Sextortion: 'In six hours, my son was dead'
How Nigerian scammers blackmail teens worldwide.
Sextortion is the fastest-growing scam affecting teenagers globally and has been linked to more than 27 suicides in the US alone. Many of the scammers appear to be from Nigeria - where authorities are under pressure to do more.
It鈥檚 feared that sextortion is under-reported due to its sensitive nature. But US crime figures show cases more than doubled last year, rising to 26,700. But what types of sextortion crimes are on the rise and what鈥檚 being done to stop them?
In this episode, Katya Adler is joined by our Cyber correspondent, Joe Tidy and Alex Goldenberg, Director of Intelligence at the Network Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University.
WARNING: This episode deals with issues of suicide and depression. If you are experiencing distress, despair or suicidal thoughts, contact a local mental health care provider.
If you live in the US or Canada, you can call or text 9-8-8 to be connected to a support line.
You can learn about the resources available in the UK at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Or you can access help anywhere in the world through Befrienders Worldwide at www.befrienders.org
The Global Story brings you trusted insights from 大象传媒 journalists worldwide. We鈥檙e keen to hear from you, wherever you are in the world. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell The Global Story. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480. #TheGlobalStory.
TGS is part of the 大象传媒 News Podcasts family. The team that makes The Global Story also makes several other podcasts, such as Americast and Ukrainecast, which cover US news and the war in Ukraine. If you enjoy The Global Story, then we think that you will enjoy some of our other podcasts too. To find them, simply search on your favourite podcast app.
This episode was made by Beth Timmins and Laurie Kalus. The technical producer was Hannah Montgomery. The assistant editor is Sergi Forcada Freixas and the senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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- Fri 21 Jun 2024 10:32GMT大象传媒 World Service
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The Global Story
Global perspectives on one big story. In-depth insights from the 大象传媒