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A new report from the AFP outlines a new wave of sextortion campaigns based not on making money but on sheer cruelty and notoriety.
The Australian Federal Police has reported a new trend in sextortion campaigns targeting young Australians, one that parents and carers need to be aware of.
While many sextortionists seek to make money from their victims, blackmailing them by threatening to share explicit images or videos of them with friends or family unless they pay up, this new campaign is based purely on cruelty.
Even more worryingly, some of the perpetrators themselves are young people, often having been coerced into online communities of sextortionists by becoming victims themselves.
Once a victim has been initially targeted and convinced to create explicit material, members of these communities will compel them to produce more, and ever more extreme, content for the community, including acts of animal cruelty, live sex acts, self-harm, and even committing suicide live and online.
In one 2022 investigation, the Western Australia Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team uncovered a 14-year-old targeting victims across the globe.
“Unlike sextortion, these offenders are not motivated by financial gain. Instead, they are driven by exploiting vulnerable victims into producing abhorrent content for their deranged amusement,” AFP Commander of Human Exploitation and the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Helen Schneider said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, some victims in these groups do not see themselves as victims. They do not believe they are being coerced into performing these extremely horrific acts and, therefore, are unlikely to report it to the authorities.
“Without information or assistance from victims and members of the public, it can be extremely difficult for police to identify offenders and shut down these dangerous groups.”
Commander Schneider said parents need to be aware of the signs of their children being groomed by such groups.
“If parents believe their child is engaging in harmful activity online, it’s important to have a conversation with them to understand the situation and provide appropriate support,” Commander Schneider said.
“Warning signs children may be engaging in harmful activity online may include increased screen time on computers or phones, isolating themselves from friends and family, or being secretive about who they are interacting with online.”
If you’re concerned about your or someone else’s safety, dial 000 or contact your local police station immediately.
The AFP-led ThinkUKnow program has developed a resource to help the community identify sextortion and how to get help. The online blackmail and sexual extortion response kit aimed at young people aged 13 -17 is available from the ThinkUKnow and ACCCE websites.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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