American Males Targeted by ‘Sextortion’ Scammers From Nigeria: Meta

Some of the ’sextortion' attempts were aimed at minors, the firm said.

The logos of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram are seen on a smartphone screen in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 5, 2021. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

Meta removed tens of thousands of Instagram accounts and Facebook groups linked to “sextortion,” a type of blackmail whereby the scammers threaten to expose sexual images of individuals if they are not paid ransoms.

“We’ve removed around 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria attempting to target people with financial sextortion scams, including a coordinated network of around 2,500 accounts,” Meta said in a July 24 statement. The tech firm also removed around 1,300 Facebook accounts, 5,700 Facebook Groups, and 200 Facebook Pages, all based in Nigeria, that provided tips to conduct sextortion scams.

“Their efforts included offering to sell scripts and guides to use when scamming people, and sharing links to collections of photos to use when populating fake accounts,” Meta said.

Meta said its systems have been identifying and automatically blocking attempts from these groups to become active again on the popular platforms.

Even though the majority of scammers mostly targeted adults, some of them also targeted minors, the company said. Meta has reported the relevant accounts to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

The FBI said it has seen an increase in financial sextortion targeting minor victims in the United States, with the victims typically aged between 14 and 17.

“There have been an alarming number of suicides identified in male victims of financially motivated sextortion schemes. Victims often feel alone, embarrassed, and afraid to seek help. But it’s important for victims to understand they are not alone. If you’re feeling threatened, ask a trusted adult for help,” the FBI stated.

In April, two Nigerian nationals pleaded guilty to sextortion attempts that targeted teenage American boys. One child died as a result of these crimes.

The convictions will send a message to predators in Nigeria: “We can find you and we can bring you to justice,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said at the time.

Trapping Minors

Meta’s purge of Nigerian sextortion accounts follows a January 2024 report claiming that Instagram was one of the most common platforms used for such crimes.

“Reports submitted by Instagram constitute a clear majority of all reports of apparent sextortion submitted to NCMEC,” the report said, while suggesting that other platforms could be underreporting the issue.

In April, Instagram announced new features aimed at protecting young users from sextortion and other intimate image abuse. The company said a nudity protection feature would be turned on by default for all individuals under the age of 18 globally.

When the feature is turned on, anyone who sends sexually explicit images will see a cautionary message.

Predators identify and target children through mostly social media platforms, livestreaming, online games, and messaging apps. Their typical modus operandi includes creating fake profiles of teenage girls. Sometimes, the predators may hack actual accounts that are known to their targets.

According to the FBI, a sextortion crime starts when young people are fooled into believing they are in communication with a stranger who is of similar age and interested in a relationship. Sometimes, the victim may be led to believe that the stranger is offering something of value.

Once the predators get one or more pictures or videos, they threaten to publish the content or commit violence, making the victims produce more such content.

“The shame, fear, and confusion children feel when they are caught in this cycle often prevents them from asking for help or reporting the abuse. Caregivers and young people should understand how the crime occurs and openly discuss online safety,” the agency said.

The FBI advises individuals affected by sextortion scams to report the predators’ accounts via the platform’s safety feature and block them. The predators’ profiles and messages they sent should be saved so that law enforcement can easily identify them.

Predators are located mostly outside the United States, in West African nations such as Nigeria or Ivory Coast, and in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, the FBI stated.