Teens targeted in sextortion surge: What parents need to know
Teens targeted in sextortion surge: What parents need to know
The FBI says sextortion is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the country.
CHICAGO - The FBI says sextortion is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the country.
Sextortion occurs when someone threatens to release private or sexual images unless the victim sends more images or pays money.
In 2024, nearly 55,000 people reported sextortion to the FBI. Reported losses totaled more than $33 million.
What we know:
"Sex extortion is under-reported, even with the amount of cases that we have. For a variety of reasons, people are scared," Kevin White said. "But any small piece of information that an individual has relating to one of these, pass it to us."
Even minor details can help launch an investigation.
Financial institutions are also being trained to detect red flags in teen accounts that may signal sextortion.
Terri Littrell, a former banker and now compliance director at Abrigo, works with banks and credit unions to identify fraudulent activity in real time.
"Banks will not have access directly to the P2P apps, but they can see the transactions, especially Zelle, going through the traditional banks and credit unions," said Littrell.
P2P, or peer-to-peer, payment apps include platforms such as CashApp and Venmo.
For parents, this means money can move quickly—sometimes without their knowledge—unless the teen uses an account they can monitor.
"They should look for the smaller amounts in volume, going to an adult, possibly out of state, new recipients added to their accounts," Littrell said. "Other things that they would look at are late night transactions."
Another red flag? The memo line.
Federal rules now require payment notes on many transactions, even those as small as $10 or $20. Those memos can reveal chilling messages.
"Sometimes they're as blatant as don't kill me. I don't want to die. Please delete video. But then the scammers can also coerce them into saying things that make more sense like gifts or for landscaping," said Littrell.
Her advice: open a teen bank account you can monitor, rather than relying on less-transparent payment apps.
She also encourages parents to follow the same checklist Abrigo shares with financial institutions. Even if you miss a red flag, she said, your bank might still detect something before it’s too late.
"We have an epidemic of teen suicides attributed to sextortion and that's, that's horrible," said Littrell. "If we catch it up front and we talk to them about, this is not your fault."
What you can do:
While banks may catch some warning signs, parents and guardians are the first line of defense.
If sextortion occurs, stop communication with the perpetrator, save all messages, and report the incident to authorities.
And it’s not just teens at risk. The FBI says older adults—particularly those over 65—are being targeted as well, often through romance scams.
For more information, follow this link.
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