RCMP say 'organized crime' groups extorting N.B. teens using intimate images shared online

The New Brunswick RCMP say they're noticing a troubling increase in teens being extorted online by people threatening to share intimate images of them.

The individuals, likely part of "organized crime groups," are targeting youth — particularly boys — by convincing them to share intimate photos and videos of themselves, and then demanding money in exchange for agreeing to not share them with friends and family, said RCMP spokesperson Hans Ouellette.

"They could be asking for money in the form of actual cash, gift cards, e-currency, Ouellette said.

"They're basically threatening our youth, or our victims that are getting caught up into this, with ... sharing those intimate images if they don't pay up."

Ouellette said the RCMP originally shared a news release last November saying that its internet child exploitation (ICE) unit was investigating "several" reports of online extortion targeting youth for financial gain across the province.

On Tuesday, the RCMP updated that release to remind parents to talk to their children about internet safety in light of a "spike" in such reports coming from the Moncton region.

"It's important that victims not pay any money and should block the individual as soon as possible," says the RCMP said.

"If you suspect someone is trying to extort you, report it to your local police."

Last August the Canadian Centre for Child Protection reported that its Cybertip.ca helpline had been receiving "an unprecedented volume of reports" from youth, and sometimes their concerned parents, about falling prey to aggressive "sextortion" tactics.

The organization said an analysis also found that boys or young men make up 92 per cent of the victims in online sexual extortion reports, with the victims reporting Instagram and Snapchat as the most commonly used social media platforms for the communication.

"Youth (young men in particular) are often tricked into believing they are talking to a young girl," the centre says on its website.

The perpetrator will convince the victim to exchange sexual content, or will secretly record the victim engaging in a sexual act over an online livestream broadcast.

The victim will then be asked to send money or risk having the photos or images shared publicly.

The centre says anyone who finds themselves in a siltation where they're being extorted should immediately stop talking to the other person and deactivate — but not delete — any of the accounts they're using to communicate.