"Rising Threat: FBI Warns of Growing Sextortion Cases Targeting Minors"

The FBI is warning parents and minors about the growing threat of "sextortion," where offenders coerce minors into sending sexually explicit images or videos and then extort them for more content or money. This threat has seen an alarming increase, with over 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors between October 2021 and March 2023, leading to at least 20 suicides. Offenders are seeking sexual gratification and/or money, often through gift cards, mobile payments, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Victims are typically boys between 14 and 17, but any child can become a victim, and the FBI urges reporting any instances of sextortion to law enforcement immediately.