The FBI in Jacksonville is warning of an uptick in reports of predators who target boys online and coerce them into producing graphic images or videos. The perpetrators pretend to be girls and then they threaten to release what the boys send them publicly if the boys don’t pay.
Last year alone, the FBI received over 18,000 reports of such crimes. To report sextortion, contact local law enforcement, the FBI Jacksonville at 904-248-7000 or tips.fbi.gov, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST. Don’t delete anything before law enforcement is able to review it, and be ready to tell officers everything about the encounter. “It may be embarrassing, but necessary,” the FBI says.