You may have heard a headline in the news yesterday that concerns
us all. The FBI issued a new warning about an evolving
online threat targeting minors and young adults: financially
motivated sextortion. Our diocesan security coordinator shared
the details with us and we feel it appropriate to share them with
you.
In these schemes, the predators typically pretend to be alluring
young girls to befriend teen boys – often on social media and
gaming platforms. The predator ultimately tricks the teens into
exchanging sexually explicit material. Once the scammers have the
picture(s) or video(s), they demand money to keep it from being
shared.