LOS ANGELES — Experts say a new type of cybercrime called “sextortion” is becoming a serious problem, especially for teenagers.
“Sextortion” occurs when explicit photos that have been “sexted” (knowingly sent from a victim from his or her mobile device to another person) fall into the wrong hands.
Although this type of blackmail can happen to anyone, teens are more vulnerable to it, according to abc7.com. “Sextortion” often happens when a relationship breaks up and the person who has been dumped tries to either exact revenge from their ex or force him or her to continue the relationship.
Predators have also used “sextortion.” For example, Wisconsin high school student Anthody Stancl was sentenced to 15 years in prison for using Facebook to mislead more than 30 of his fellow male students into sending him naked photos of them. He then used the images to blackmail his classmates for sex acts and other inappropriate conduct.
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