Data shows that children under the age of six to 13 are targeted for the first time by children aged six to 13.
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said the “worrying” trends suggest that the criminals behind the blackmail attempt are driving the ball wider in an attempt to capture the victims.
Sexttort is a form of ransomware, in recent years, where incidents involving girls have also risen sharply, teenagers (usually boys) have been tricked into sending intimate pictures of themselves to fraudsters who have been contacted on social media and messaging platforms. The criminal then demands money and threatens to share materials with others.
The UK-based internet security regulator said it had confirmed that there were five confirmed reports that 13-year-old victims aged 11 to 13 were victims of one in seven attempts last year, in a total of 175 confirmed incidents involving under 17 years of age. The total in 2024 is slightly lower than the 176 recorded in the previous year, but the IWF said Sextorth is still a “huge problem”.
“The fact that these criminals are minting children aged 11 to 13 is worrying,” said Tamsin McNally, the hotline manager for IWF. “Although it’s only a small amount, I do worry about the numbers going to increase.”
Last month, parents at an Edinburgh primary school were warned to check their children’s equipment because an eight-year-old girl was reportedly a victim of a seven-point scam.
The school told parents that a person pretended to be a student on Snapchat, and police confirmed that an investigation was underway after receiving “several reports” about indecent image sharing.
McNally said a new trend the IWF is seeing involves criminals, threatening to portray victims as perpetrators of sexual crimes.
“They now say they will send the images to others, but also make you look like the perpetrator of a sexual crime. “This puts a lot of pressure to get the victim to pay the perpetrator,” she said. ”
Last year, the National Crime Agency (NCA) warned international cybercriminals that it could try to extradite them because it undermined the breakdown. According to the NCA, West Africa, especially Nigeria, is a hub in Nigeria.
McNally said there will still be children living because they are worried about the consequences of a secondary attack and are not aware of an online system designed specifically for removing sexual images from the internet.
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The report removes services operated by the IWF and Children’s Charity (NSPCC), allowing children to anonymously mark their own private images or videos that appear or may appear online, including private images or videos sent to Sexttort fraudsters. The technology platform can then delete the image or prevent it from uploading.
According to the IWF, the number of children using reports has surged in 2024. The data shows that 1,142 reported data were processed by watchdogs, up 44% in 2023. Almost half of the images are from the age group of 14 to 15 years old. Among the 175 seven-point incidents last year, 151 were reported and deleted.
One parent said anonymously that the service was the “gamechanger” for their 16-year-old son to become a family member due to a second attempt.
“It’s obvious that the report’s removal tool has never had more services,” said Derek Ray-Hill, interim CEO of IWF.
“These numbers on these numbers show that criminals know they are vulnerable to coercion, exploitation and abuse.”
