The Australian Federal Police have warned there has been a surge in online financial 'sextortion' targeting young Australians over the school holiday period.
According to reports, December of 2022 alone saw a 60 per cent spike in reports.
Statistics from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation show overseas offenders were primarily targeting teenage boys, who make up 90 per cent of victim reports.
In addition to this concerning rise in reports, police suspect the offending is far greater than what is being reported.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Hilda Sirec said offshore criminal syndicates were often targeting a victim's entire friend list.
"This type of financial sextortion involves victims being coerced into sending sexualised images or videos of themselves by online offenders, usually with the offender pretending to be another young person. The offender then threatens to on-share the content to others unless the victim pays," AC Sirec said.
"When this happens to someone under the age of 18, it is online child sexual exploitation and I want to reassure victims of this crime that they will not be in trouble with the police for coming forward and reporting."
With school returning, police are urging teenagers to talk openly with their friends, parents, carers and educators about anything that may be happening online.
"Some victims are unwilling to report the abuse and even deny that anything has happened if identified and contacted by police because they may feel a sense of shame or embarrassment," AC Sirec said.
"If your child is or has been a victim, please reassure them that it's not their fault and that there is help available through the ACCCE and our partners."
As part of an ongoing effort to combat online financial sextortion, the AFP, working together with AUSTRAC, have shut down more than 1,000 Australian bank, financial services and digital currency accounts linked to offshore organised syndicates sexually exploiting Australian teenagers between June and December 2022.
The AFP advises any victim of online sextortion to stop the conversation, collect screenshots of the conversations and seek help from police.
If you, or someone you know is a victim of this crime and under the age of 18, we encourage you to report online at www.accce.gov.au/report.
If you become aware of naked or sexual images shared online without consent eSafety can help to quickly remove this content by reporting through eSafety.gov.au/report.
- Lifeline 13 11 14
