EVANS, Ga. – There’s been an explosive increase in teenage boys being targeted online and extorted for money after being tricked into sending sexually explicit pictures – including in the CSRA.
The FBI on Monday reported the nationwide increase in sextortion scams, and it’s something the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has been seeing for weeks.
This type of scam has been growing in the past few years, mostly targeting teenage boys, but also others looking for love on social media or dating sites. According to the Federal Trade Commission, reports of romance scams hit a record in 2021.
At least 3,000 children, mostly teenage boys, have been victims, Justice Department officials said.
One recent case in Columbia County includes a 15-year-old boy reported he’d been a victim of a scam on Nov. 2. He told deputies he began messaging a female through Snapchat and sent nude pictures of himself. The recipient said they’d ruin his life and post the pictures on Instagram if he didn’t fork over $500. The victim then told his dad, who called deputies.
Also targeted in Columbia County was a 19-year-old who said he was scammed Oct. 26 through an app called Purp. He sent explicit pictures to someone who threatened to send the pictures to all of his Instagram contacts and demanded money. The victim sent $40 through Cashapp, then called deputies.
Also in Columbia County, a 20-year-old man told deputies he recently began chatting through Snapchat, exchanging nude photos. When…
