"Sextortion"

[Wayne]

After seeing THIS LINK I wonder if it's a term we should use here for this type of scam. The issue I see is that in the cases I'm reading after Googling the term, people are demanding more photos or videos rather than money. Does anyone have any opinions or even alternatives we could use?

[firefly]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextortion

Sextortion is a form of sexual exploitation where people are extorted with a nude image of themselves they shared on the Internet through sexting. They are later coerced into performing sexual acts with the person doing the extorting, and are coerced into performing hardcore pornography.[1]

History
An early use of the term appears in print in 1950 in California.[2]

Incidents
Jonathan Vance of Auburn, Alabama was sentenced to 18 years in prison in April 2010 after sending threatening e-mails on Facebook and MySpace extorting nude photos from more than 50 women in three states.[1]
Anthony Stancl of Wisconsin, then 18, received 15 years in prison in February 2010 after he posed as a girl on Facebook to trick male high school classmates into sending him nude cell phone photos, which he then used to extort them for homosexual sex.[1]
Luis Mijangos, of California, then 31, was arrested in June 2010 on extortion charges after threatened to expose nude photos he found on personal computers that he hacked into. He demanded that the owners pose for more sexually explicit videos. Forty-four of the victims were under age 18.[1][3]
Christopher Patrick Gunn, 31, of Montgomery, Alabama was indicted for using fake Facebook profiles to extort nude photos and videos from underage girls in numerous states.[4]

http://www.ikeepsafe.org/educational-issues/sextortion/
May 21, 2012

Popular social networking sites tout that 94% of teens are online with 43% percent of their online profiles set to “OPEN;” meaning that anyone can view profile contents. One popular site asserts that they have 400 million active users with that number doubling every six months. Considering these staggering numbers, crime is only limited by the human imagination.

One growing trend involves “SEXTORTION;” a practice of coercing an individual into sending sexually explicit images/videos and then using those images as leverage to compel the originator to send additional images/videos or even engage in sexual conduct. So, how does this happen?

Often, someone (suspect) creates a fake profile or chat posing as someone else who then makes a request to “friend” or otherwise have contact with the individual. The suspect sends a picture or video depicting the fake persona and requests return pictures/videos. Believing that he/she is sending a picture to a known friend, the victim snaps a few revealing images and hits send. The suspect then begins to threaten the victim. The victim is told to send more compromising pictures or the suspect will post the previous images on a porn site. He/she will often send links to the porn site in order to prove that he/she is serious about the threat. In an effort to further control the victim, the suspect often gathers information from social networking sites and then threatens to send the compromising pictures to parents, friends, etc.

This problem is further exacerbated by the growing trend of video chatting with complete strangers. One recent case involved a young girl visiting her friend’s home. The two girls decided to have some “fun” on the computer by striking up a video chat with an unknown person. The suspect began to flatter the young girls and encourage them to disrobe and pose in compromising positions. The girls agreed, believing their actions to be harmless, as they were communicating with a total stranger in another part of the country. The suspect captured the video images and began to threaten to disclose the girls’ escapades if they did not comply with his demands. Fortunately, an engaged parent learned of the situation and contacted law enforcement. The suspect was eventually arrested and the investigation revealed an additional 25 victims. The suspect reported that his “sextortion” strategies were successful about 85% of the time.

While the internet has many positive benefits, evolving trends remind us of the need to remain vigilant in our efforts to protect our young people. This challenge is too great for any single individual. As such, we must continue to strengthen and educate our community of support. Working together, we will be much better prepared for the evolving dynamics of “Cyber-life.”

The latest reports:
- http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... Az4DGFYySo
- http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/201 ... sextortion

The latest FBI warning: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/fe ... ion_021012

According to several sources online, sextortion was used initially against children/young people, but recently published reports shows that the adults can also become victims, both men and women...