A new type of cybercrime, primarily targeting teenage boys, is sweeping across the social mediaverse, and has already silently claimed dozens of lives.
‘Sextortion’ is a new type of cybercrime that uses fake profiles to lure a target into sending explicit photos of themselves, and then uses these photos, alongside threats, to blackmail and extort money from the victim.
It is not about the sexual gratification of the predator, nor are these the actions of disgruntled former partners. This is purely about money, and getting as much of it from the target as possible.
Worse, unlike other types of cyber crime, where other demographics are targeted; sextortion does not need a long runway for the scammer to build trust, it can take hours, or even minutes, to get what they want.
So what makes teen boys uniquely vulnerable?
Well, boys have not been subject to the same awareness campaigns as girls, who are taught to be mindful of what they send, and to whom. Instead, boys’ fast and loose approach to sending explicit photos of their body, and the unique shame they feel when exposed, is what makes them an easy and lucrative target.
So who will speak to, educate and protect our boys?
How many more lives will have to be devastated, and lost, before we take the same meaningful action taken to help girls, to support boys too?
Is it time we talked about sextortion?
Is it time we protected our boys?
What do you think?
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Source: instagram.com