OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The FBI is calling on parents and caregivers to be on the lookout for a scam targeting teenage boys.
They're seeing an uptick in reports of "sextortion" here in Omaha and around the country.
In the most common variation of the scheme, an adult poses as a young girl and contacts boys online. They convince him to send sexually explicit images of himself. They then threaten to release the images and videos unless they are paid.
"Usually, it's going to be an adult subject on the other end," said John Hallock with the FBI. "In some cases, there are large organizations that are out of the country that are doing this and they're looking for thousands and thousands of different people because it's large money in the business."
The first step to protect children is for parents to monitor their activity online, according to Project Harmony.
Hallock said they monitor apps, like Cash App and Venmo. Parents can also look on those apps as well as understand their children's activity on various social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat and Reddit.
You should also keep an eye out for changes in behavior such as socially or academically.
"We try to tell parents, please communicate with your children," Hallock said. "We're seeing victims as young as 10 years old, unfortunately, through the teen years...Tell somebody. Tell clergy, talk to parents, talk to somebody that you trust. Report if somebody is trying to sextort you in any way, shape, or form."
Sextortion cases or suspicions of one can be reported to tips.fbi.gov. They say, don't destroy any potential evidence before the FBI has a chance to review it, and share everything so they can work to end sextortion.
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