Financial Sextortion Schemes Mostly Target Teen Boys: Report

A recent report has shown that financial sextortion schemes are on the rise and teenage boys are the primary targets. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received an average of 812 sextortion reports per week between August 2022 and August 2023, with more than two-thirds of these reports being “financially motivated,” according to a new report. The report defines sextortion as the act of “threatening to expose sexual images of someone if they don’t yield to demands.” The report, jointly released by technology firm Thorn and the NCMEC on June 24, examined information received by NCMEC’s CyberTipline between 2020 and 2023. Previous research has found that girls are more likely to be victims of sextortion with demands for additional intimate imagery, sexual acts, or relationships....