(WXMI) — An 18-year-old in Hart became a victim of sextortion after sending nude photos to someone he met online who then demanded money to keep the images private. Instead of paying the ransom, the teen sought help from family who contacted authorities.
The Oceana County Sheriff's Office learned of the situation last Wednesday when the teen reported he had sent nude photos to someone he believed was female.
"The sooner that the authorities can step in and get involved, the sooner that we can put a stop to this and the better chance we have to try to figure out who this is," Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast said. "Very often these are hard cases to follow up on because they're not local cases."
After sending the photos, the teen was contacted by someone who threatened to release the images unless he paid a ransom.
The 18-year-old's family called police, and Sheriff Mast turned the case over to the FBI.
"If the suspect is trying to do this one particular incident to a young man here in Oceana County, he's probably trying to do this same scam or fraud to several other victims all around the country or the world," Mast said.
The FBI has reported a significant increase in sextortion cases involving children and teens. From October 2022 to March 2023, the agency observed at least a 20% increase in reporting of financially motivated sextortion incidents.
The FBI told FOX 17 they don't confirm or deny investigations but encouraged members of the public who have information about or believe they are victims of sextortion to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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