Australian children as young as 10 held to ransom by global crime syndicates

Australian children as young as 10 are being tricked into sharing nude photos of themselves by global syndicates - with some youth being pushed to suicide. Warning: Graphic.

Exclusive: Ruthless overseas crime syndicates have resorted to a new low, tricking Australian boys as young as 10 into sending nude pictures of themselves online, and then blackmailing them.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) will on Thursday reveal they have closed more than 500 Australian bank accounts linked to the scam, and are working with financial authorities to close down another 1000 accounts.

The kids are being tricked by West African crime gangs into sending naked pictures of themselves online in a racket the AFP said has exploded 100-fold this year, with fears one young victim has already taken his own life.

Now police are stepping up their warnings as Christmas approaches when youngsters tend to have more money and spend more time online.

AFP Commander Hilda Sirec said parents need to understand what this crime means because “it could save your child’s life”.

Australian Federal Police Commander Hilda Sirec warns parents about dangerous crime targeting kids. Picture: Richard Walker.

“Unfortunately we do believe some youth are self-harming, and there are examples of victims overseas taking their own life,” Cmdr Sirec said.

She said it was a “shocking and disturbing trend that every parent in Australia should be aware of and deeply concerned about.

“Overseas perpetrators are targeting your children for money and they are doing it using the most despicable means,” Cmdr Sirec said.

“These criminals are pretending to be teens and are asking for images – often those images are naked images or images of body parts.

“Once these images have been sent they threaten to shame their victims by showing those photos to friends and family unless they pay up.

Jordan DeMay, 17, from the US, took his own life in March after getting a message from sextortionists. Picture: Instagram.

“This is not a one-off trend. We are getting reports of 100 victims of sextortion a month in Australia – but we believe there are many more victims who are not reporting.”

The AFP revealed it launched Operation Huntsman in June, and working alongside the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) have shut down 556 Australian bank accounts, in the names of alleged offenders in West Africa, and are watching another 1000.

The gangs – mostly working out of Nigeria – use hundreds of middlemen in Australia to set up bank accounts that the children can pay into.

Police said the young victims are paying out ransoms ranging from $100 to $16,000 in the most extreme case.

The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), led by the AFP, said the number of children falling prey to the scam has risen to unprecedented levels, with more than 100 reports a month.

Another US student, Ryan Last, 17, took his own life after falling for a sextortion scam. Picture: Supplied.

Commander Sirec said the AFP, the ACCCE and state and territory police jurisdictions are working together to target and disrupt these gangs “wherever they hide”.

Police said the majority of scams occur between 7pm and midnight and boys aged 15 to 17 are the typical targets.

They said the best way to deal with these scams is to stop communicating with the blackmailer, take screenshots, block the account and report to police.

They said children will not get into trouble if they come forward, but that they will be treated as victims and will be supported.

New research out of Canada has found around four per cent of young sextortion victims have self-harmed or taken their own lives after being caught in the trap.

Police are still waiting for a coroner’s decision over the death of one Australian boy, but believe it could be linked to sextortion.

In two separate incidents this year, US teens Jordan John DeMay, 17, and Ryan Last, also 17, both took their own lives after paying blackmailers, but the scammers wanted more.

Both took their lives within hours of the threats.

If you need help, the following services provide support.

Lifeline: 13 11 14

Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800

SANE: 1800 18 7263

Headspace: 1800 650 890

MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978

Beyond Blue: 1300 224 635

Originally published as Australian children as young as 10 held to ransom by global crime syndicates