Ohio Against Sextortion: What to Know

ZANESVILLE, OH – As social media usage increases among young teens and adults, so do cybercrimes.

Sextortion is rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing crimes in the country. The FBI reports that many victims are males aged 14 to 17, but anyone can be a target. Between October 2021 and March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security received over 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion involving minors.

“A tragic thing has happened to many young teens and adults in this country, they’re being targeted with sextortion cases. Typically, a young man thinks they’ve met a young woman online and is persuaded to take a compromising picture. Victims later learn it wasn’t a young lady at all…it was a criminal trying to extort them for money. “If the criminals aren’t given money, they’ll threaten we’re going to send these photos to all of your friends, across your school, and to your family,” said Lt. Governor Jon Husten.

Victims often receive threatening messages, and unfortunately, many young individuals in crisis have taken their own lives. Braden’s Law honors Braden Markus, a student from Olentangy High School, who took his life in 2021 after being targeted online. Lt. Governor Husten advises anyone receiving sextortion messages to avoid engaging with the sender.

“There are all kinds of scams, sextortion scams are certainly a part of that. You should do two things– don’t respond and report it to local law enforcement. Those are the first two things you should do. They want to draw you into a conversation and torment you. They want to extort you. DO NOT engage.”

If you’re being exploited or are a victim of sextortion, contact your local FBI field office, call 1(800)-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.