Oct
Raising Awareness About Sextortion: A Growing Digital Threat – Part 2
What can you do if a youth is sextorted?
If you suspect someone of sextortion, immediately stop talking to them. The more you interact with them, the more they may harass you.
– Do not engage any further in the conversation and take a screenshot of any chats for evidence in case you need to file a police report.
– Once you have taken screenshots of any online interactions, block, delete, and report the sextorter’s account on the social media platform you have been communicating on.
– Do not give in to a sextorter’s demands. If you send them money, they will continue to ask for more money. The same goes for sextorters who demand more sexual content, if you send them more, they will ask for more.
How does sextortion impact victims?
Sextorters will often threaten to ruin the reputation of victims by leaking sexual content online, sending it to friends and family, or by posting it publicly. These threats can cause victims distress, and in some cases has led to victims causing harm to themselves. Even if law enforcement gets involved with a sextortion case, it can be incredibly difficult to ensure the complete removal of any shared or AI-generated sexual content. It is difficult to track down images saved to people’s personal devices, but there is legislation and technical measures taken to prevent any sexual content from being shared on social media platforms.
What can you do to keep the youth in your life safe?
Being a victim of sextortion can be traumatizing for the victim. You can provide youth
with additional mental health resources, and create a safe, non-judgemental space for
them where they can share their thoughts and emotions. Make sure the privacy settings
on all social media accounts are turned on. Talk to youth about only interacting
with/adding people they personally know on social media accounts.
Try to encourage youth to not share any photos of their face or post anything that could
reveal personal information about them (anything related to where they go to school,
where they live, places they frequent). With the rise of deepfakes, a simple photo of a
person’s face can be used to generate sexual content through AI, and the more
personal information that is shared online, the more information sextorters have to
manipulate and blackmail a victim.
Victims of sextortion may feel ashamed or embarrassed by the situation, meaning they
may be more reluctant to reach out for help if they need it. Let youth know that you are
a safe and trusted adult. Creating a space for open and honest conversation is crucial to
make a youth feel like they can share information with you and that you can provide
support whenever they need it.
How is YouthLink is trying to tackle the problem?
At YouthLink, we believe that education is an important first step to keeping youth and the public safe. Our museum features a new Cyber exhibit with the latest information about cyber safety and cyber crimes. We also offer programs for grade 6 students that focuses on teaching them digital safety and includes more information about how to be safe and responsible online. Our community outreach programs deliver cyber safety presentations to various age groups, ranging elementary schools to seniors. We work closely with Calgary Police Service to ensure all of our information is relevant, accurate, and up to date.
For more information about cyber safety and sextortion, please visit cypertip.ca or needhelpnow.ca.
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