ATLANTA — The Atlanta office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning to parents, teachers and children about a dramatic increase in the number of online sextortion cases involving minor victims. In Atlanta, the FBI said reports of sextortion in 2023 were up 700%.
The agency defines the act of sextortion as “an offender coercing a minor to create and send sexually explicit images or video. An offender gets sexually explicit material from the child, then threatens to release that compromising material unless the victim produces more. These offenders are seeking sexual gratification.”
According to the FBI warning, more than 13,000 reports of financial sextortion of minors involving 12,600 victims were reported to the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations from October 2021 to March 2023.
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However, the FBI is also working to reduce financially motivated sextortion, where “an offender coercing a minor to create and send sexually explicit material. Offenders threaten to release that compromising material unless they receive payment, which is often requested in gift cards, mobile payment services, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. These offenders are motivated by financial gain, not necessarily just sexual gratification.”
The victims were described by the FBI as typically male between 14 to 17 years old, though the agency said any child could be a victim.
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In the six months making up October 2022 to March 2023, the FBI said cases were overall up by 20% compared to the previous year, but in Atlanta, the year of 2023 had a much larger and more concerning increase.
Last year, “FBI Atlanta received 196 complaints of sextortion, a 700% increase in office reports since 2021.”
“The internet is a very important and useful resource, but unfortunately can be used for illegal activity as criminals seek to prey on the most vulnerable of our population,” Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley of the FBI’s Atlanta Field office said in a statement. “Let this be a reminder to parents and caregivers, people can pretend to be anyone online, and you need to remain vigilant with monitoring your child’s online activity and educating them about the risks of communicating with strangers.”
In addition to concern over sextortion of minors, the FBI said one side effect of these crimes were victims who then harm themselves. From October 2021 to March 2023, while there were 12,600 victims reportedly harmed by financial sextortion online, 20 committed suicide.
If you or someone you know believes that they are a victim of sextortion or financially motivated sextortion, immediately report the activity to law enforcement. You can report it to the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or visiting tips.fbi.gov.
For more information on sextortion and financial sextortion, visit the FBI’s resources on the threats online.
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