Ryan Last, 17, a straight-A student and Boy Scout in San Jose, California, killed himself last February because he was “absolutely terrified,” his mother, Pauline Stuart, told CNN. In his suicide note, he described how embarrassed he was for himself and his family.
Ryan Last, 17, a straight-A student and Boy Scout in San Jose, California, killed himself last February because he was “absolutely terrified,” his mother, Pauline Stuart, told CNN. In his suicide note, he described how embarrassed he was for himself and his family.
The reason? Being a victim of a “sextortion” scam by a cybercriminal who demanded $5,000 to keep private a nude photo of himself he’d sent online to someone posing as a girl.
His mother is telling his story to try and keep other parents from experiencing her anguish.
Soaring cases
The FBI told CNN there were over 18,000 sextortion-related complaints in 2021, with losses to the victims exceeding $13 million. And those are just the cases they know about, because many victims are too ashamed to report the scam.
According to the FBI, (https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/sextortion) “Sextortion can start on any site, app, or game where people meet and communicate. In some cases, the first contact from the criminal will be a threat. The person may claim to already have a revealing picture or video of a child that will be shared if the victim does not send more pictures.
“More often, however, this crime stars when young people believe they are communicating with someone their own age who is interested in a relationship or with someone who is offering something of value. The adult will use threats, gifts, money, flattery, lies, or other methods to get a young person to produce an image.”
Once they have these images, the demands begin and the child feels trapped. The FBI has interviewed victims as young as eight years old, and says victimhood involved all races, genders, and socioeconomic groups.
“The only common trait among victims is Internet access,” the bureau reports.
Preventing sextortion
Dr. Scott Hadland, chief of adolescent medicine at Massachusetts General in Boston, told CNN that parents can help their teens avoid sextortion by knowing what your child is doing online, whom they’re interacting with, what platforms they’re using.
He said it’s also critical that parents specifically warn teens about sextortion, but without shaming them.
“You want to make it clear that they can talk to you if they have done something, or they feel like they’ve made a mistake,” he said.
If young people are being exploited, they are the victim of a crime, and should report it, the FBI says. Contact your local FBI field office (https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices), call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at https://www.fbi.gov/tips.
