VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The FBI says they have seen a significant increase in grooming and sextortion activity against children who use the internet.
In one Virginia Beach case, criminals threatened to call a teenage boy a rapist unless he sent them money.
A 17-year-old boy thought he was messaging with a teenage girl on Instagram back in June, according to a search warrant.
It states she asked him for an explicit picture; he sent one, and then the demands for money started.
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The suspect said if the teen didn’t agree to send the money, they would release the images he sent and even threatened to post a wanted sign saying he was a rapist, the records state.
After the teen sent three transactions totaling more than $750, his mother realized what was going on and called police, according to the records.
“The biggest target right now is boys ages 12 to 17," said Samaritan House Services Supervisor Meredith Williams.
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The FBI says children who access the internet via online gaming, gaming consoles, livestreaming and video platforms, communications and instant message apps, and social media are vulnerable to online predators. They say these predators prey on children and use tactics to “groom” children to engage in inappropriate behavior.
The FBI says they want to warn parents, educators, and children about the dangers of online activity that lead to this kind of crime.
They say in many cases, the criminal is coercing the child to create and send sexual pictures or video, then makes threats to release it.
Sometimes it’s for the criminal’s gratification, financial gain, or both, the FBI says.
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Virginia Beach Police say the case involving the 17-year-old boy is ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time. The victim’s mother told News 3 Investigator Margaret Kavanagh that law enforcement said the suspects were possibly linked to Nigeria, which makes an arrest extremely difficult.
The Norfolk FBI office says over the last three years, they've seen an uptick in sextortion cases involving minors, as well as an increase in foreign criminals targeting local kids. They found that locally, victims are often targeted through social media platforms.
VBPD issued the following statement with information on how to protect your children and what to do if they should fall victim:
"Parents need to monitor their children's use of cell phones, tablets, computers, and gaming consoles frequently. Furthermore, they should be limiting their usage and talk with them regarding the dangers of anonymous communications with persons unknown. Should their child become a victim, there are resources out there that could be beneficial to help have images removed from sites. Counseling is also an option for the juvenile victims, as they will feel a sense of being violated that transcends the electronic communications. They need to save all contact information, file a report with police, provide screen shots, usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, etc., so we can submit legal process to attempt to locate the offenders, should they want an investigation."
