By: Xavier J., Grade 10
Over three dozen teen boys have died by suicide after being sextorted. These scams can happen in as little as 15 minutes—starting with a fake message from someone pretending to be a teen girl. To avoid this happening to yourself, it is super important to take online safety seriously.
Sextortion scams usually begin on apps like TikTok and then move to more private apps like iMessage, where the safety controls are weaker. Usually, scammers will use fake job offers, romance, or giveaways to lure teens online. As the article “How Sextortion Scams Are Targeting Teen Boys—and What Tech Companies Are Doing,” explains: “Predators find them on social platforms and move them to Messages where there are no safeguards.”
Scammers dig through personal details from public profiles, comments, or posts. Even something as small as your school name, sports team, or friend list can help scammers build fake trust or create convincing messages.
Apps like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook can also show information such as location, contact lists, and public profiles. Scammers can use this data to fake relationships or target people who are younger.
Many teens will not report these scams due to fear or shame, because teens are usually more private, and many parents never know that it even happened, making them easier targets for these Scammers.
Instagram now warns users about sketchy messages and followers and sets teen accounts to private by default. AP News reports “Teen users blocked more than a million accounts and reported another million after seeing a ‘safety notice’ that reminds people to ‘be cautious in private messages…’” Even with that, teens usually ignore safety settings, thinking they’re unhelpful.
To stay safe, change your privacy settings on apps you use—even ones like Facebook, which many teens use for school or clubs. Go into your settings and make your account private, turn off location sharing, and block messages from people you don’t know. On Instagram and TikTok, make your account private and limit who can message you. On Facebook, use tools like Privacy Checkup to control who can see your posts, send friend requests, or view your location.
Sure, it might feel embarrassing to get tricked online, but staying silent can turn a bad situation into something much worse—like ongoing blackmail, serious emotional stress, or even danger to your safety. You’re not alone, and there’s help available. For support, visit missingkids.org This You’ll find real stories, ways to get help, and advice if things go wrong if you or a friend is being threatened online.
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