Ottawa: Concerned over financial Sextortion crisis, government agencies have issued a warning to people to stay vigilant as on average, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection receives 200 sextortion reports per month through Cybertip.ca, with 87 per cent of sextortion incidents reported affecting boys.
Officials said that they have seen a major increase in financial extortion, where minor boys around the world are being coerced into sending explicit images online and extorted for money.
According to the officials, financial sextortion can happen anywhere, although it mainly occurs on digital platforms where children are spending their screen time. Anyone can be victimized through their phones, gaming consoles and computers by way of social media, gaming websites or video chat. On these platforms, predators often pose as girls of a similar age and use fake accounts to target young boys, deceiving them into sending explicit photos or videos.
Officials said that the predator then threatens to release the compromising materials unless the victim sends payment, however in many cases, the predator will release the images anyway.
Meanwhile, Toronto Police Service, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), Canadian Centre for Child Protection, FBI, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, National Child Exploitation Crime Centre (RCMP) and many other worldwide agencies have issued a joint warning about a global financial sextortion crisis.