A form of cybercrime called “financial sextortion” is rapidly rising in North America and Australia, with a major portion driven by a non-organized cybercriminal group in West Africa who call themselves “Yahoo Boys,” according to a new study from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI).
(report PDF)
Yahoo Boys’ tactics gained popularity among some as a way to get rich quickly in West Africa, where there are scant other means of earning income, according to a 2023 Atavist investigation. Popular songs referencing Yahoo Boys have lent the cybercriminal gangs cultural clout.
https://magazine.atavist.com/the-romance-scammer-on-my-sofa-nigeria-yahoo-boys/
Sextortion is “a crime that involves adults coercing kids and teens into sending explicit images online,” according to the FBI. The criminals threaten their victims with wide distribution of the explicit images, including to the victims’ friends and family, unless the victims pay them, repeatedly, through a variety of peer-to-peer payment apps, cryptocurrency transfers and gift cards.
The FBI has several resources to help caregivers and young people better understand what sextortion is, how to protect against it, and how to talk about this growing and devastating threat.
Sextortion: What Kids and Caregivers Need to Know
How do you deal with sextortion in the UK?
What to do if you, your child or a friend are a victim of sextortion
Report Remove: If you or your child are under 18, images and videos can be submitted to Report Remove
https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/report-remove/
an online tool developed by the IWF and Childline/NSPCC to help young people in the UK to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves in an effort to have them removed from the internet
@ecksmc is there an equivalent for the US states? I'm happy there is a place to report these things in general.
Take It Down is a free service that can help you remove or stop the online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos taken of you when you were under 18 years old.
also check the post in the thread "Sextortion: What Kids and Caregivers Need to Know" FBI url how they can help
sidenote: Meta also brought out a tool i'm sure a while back < although Meta right??
@ecksmc thank you. That's so important. I'm not down with the doomer naritive at all. The whole idea of people just going to be victims because technology exists is stupid. Being informed, and not letting the bad actors get away with their crap. That's how you deal. You don't just leave people in the dark. You do something. Thanks for the links. I'll pass it on.
In August 2023, NBC News reported that two Nigerian men were extradited to the U.S. to face charges in a sextortion scheme that authorities say prompted the suicide of a 17-year-old Michigan high school student.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/us-extradites-nigerians-sextortion-linked-suicide-michigan-teen-rcna99795
more here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna134200