By Shae Rozzi, Fox23 News
No matter how many times you may have heard or said to your kids not to send pictures to someone you don’t want to end up online, some people still do.
And in some cases, scammers try to blackmail you into thinking they have those pictures.
Risque pictures, nude selfies; some people take them and exchange them with the person they’re dating.
We’ve seen cases where the person who gets them may post them after a break up or threaten to post them and blackmail the person in the picture demanding they pay up to keep the pictures from being shared online or with friends.
The FBI issued a warning earlier this year about an increase in sextortion schemes. The cases they investigate often involve victims under the age of 18 with the communication starting through a site, an app, messaging or gaming platform.
Amie Mitchell, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Oklahoma says scammers — people you’ve never communicated with before — may threaten to do this too.
“Most of what we see is phishing, and these are scammers coming at you that have no information. They have no pictures, no videos. They didn’t hack your computer, nothing like that. They’re just trying to see if they can get your money.” says Amie.
She says there are certain things you can do to protect yourself and your children from falling for this scam and to avoid the real-life scenario the FBI warned about.
“Now, I do recommend that you cover your camera when you’re not using it, and use some precautions. Make sure that you have your software updated and things like that, and just in general, don’t share those kinds of pictures.” says Amie.
The FBI has a guide for parents and educators about talking to kids about sextortion. And they have a one-step guide to help remove sexually explicit pictures of yourself or your child from the internet.
