{"id":27814,"date":"2024-05-29T06:13:25","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T10:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=27814"},"modified":"2024-05-29T06:13:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T10:13:25","slug":"sextortion-guides-sold-on-social-media-bbc-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2024\/05\/29\/sextortion-guides-sold-on-social-media-bbc-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Sextortion guides’ sold on social media, BBC finds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Criminals are selling guides on social media on how to carry out sextortion, BBC News has learned.<\/b><\/p>\n

The guides show people how to pose as young women online, trick a victim into sending sexually explicit material and then blackmail them.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Olamide Shanu appeared in court in London. He is believed to be part of a gang that made \u00a32m from blackmailing adults and children online.<\/p>\n

Last month the National Crime Agency\u00a0issued an alert to schools across the UK<\/a>, warning against the dangers of sextortion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Olamide<\/picture><\/span><\/div>
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Olamide Shanu is alleged to be part of a gang that made \u00a32m by blackmailing people<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Experts say there has been a sharp rise in children falling victim to sextortion carried out by gangs based in West Africa, mainly Nigeria.<\/p>\n

In the UK, two British teenagers are known to have taken their own lives since October 2022 after becoming victims of sextortion.<\/p>\n

Paul Raffile, an intelligence professional and expert on sextortion, describes the phenomenon as a \u201cmassive threat\u201d to children.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternet scammers over these past two years have found out that they can get very rich very quickly by scamming an untapped market.<\/p>\n

“And that\u2019s teenagers,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Blackmail<\/picture><\/span><\/div>
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Guides to coerce money out of people are openly for sale<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Raffile pointed out that adults have been targets for sextortion for years – and now teenage boys are among the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are finding their victims by going on social media platforms and searching for high schools and youth sports teams, and then ‘following’ or ‘friending’,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

BBC News has found that guides on how to carry out the crime are openly for sale in videos posted online.<\/p>\n

It is described in detail how to set up untraceable phone numbers, create fake social media profiles and use secure payment methods.<\/p>\n

Some boast about the number of people they have blackmailed – one wrote that a victim paid him regularly, “every Friday\u201d.<\/p>\n