This Sextortion Scam Hit a Teen I Love — Why You Need to Talk to Your Kid Today
A fake flirt. A real threat. I explain exactly how it happens and give you the script to stop it.
PARENTS: LOOK AT THESE FACES. THEN HAVE THIS TALK WITH YOUR KIDS.
It happened to someone I know. Someone I care deeply about. A family I love.
Their son is that kid — the one you root for without even thinking about it.
Sixteen.
Smart, kind, funny.
A standout athlete, top of his class, always smiling.
Confident but never cocky.
The kind of teen who lifts his teammates, aces his grades, and still hugs his mom in public.
He has friends, fans, and a bright future. Then, in the span of just a few days last week, his world was turned upside down. A seemingly sweet Instagram flirt turned into a nightmare — he was suddenly being blackmailed by strangers halfway around the world.
This is what sextortion looks like now.
And it’s targeting boys — good boys, smart boys — by the thousands.
According to a February 2025 USA Today report, organized criminal gangs — many operating out of West Africa — are using fake social media accounts to pose as teenage girls. Often, the girls in the photos are real people, maybe even classmates. The scammers create convincing profiles and spark up a conversation. The boy thinks he’s talking to someone he knows — and maybe even likes.
It starts innocently enough: a few flirty DMs, maybe a cute photo. They move the conversation off Instagram or Snapchat and onto encrypted apps like Telegram. The connection feels real. The pressure builds. And then, after just the right mix of charm and manipulation, he sends a private photo.
That’s when the threats begin.
The scammer shows screenshots of his followers, friends, and family. They know his name. His school. They demand money — now — or they’ll share everything. The fear is instant. And overwhelming.
A friend at Aura Security told me something I can’t shake: most teens who take their own lives in these situations do so within an hour of receiving the first threat. These criminals are banking on shame. And they’re weaponizing science.
Teenagers aren’t falling for this because they’re dumb, careless, reckless, or horny (though of course, it’s normal to be all of that at that age).
They’re falling for it because their brains are still developing. The part of the brain that controls long-term thinking, judgment, and impulse control? Still under construction. But the emotional centers — the ones that crave connection, love, validation — are firing at full blast. Scammers know exactly how to exploit this gap. And they do it well.
The FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children have both issued warnings. In 2023 alone, NCMEC received more than 10,000 reports of sextortion involving minors, most of them boys. But of course, it happens to girls too. These aren’t rare cases. This is a crisis.
My friend’s son survived. He called a friend, another teen who knew someone who took his own life after getting ensnared by this same scam.
That friend urged him to call the police. Tell his parents. Get help. He did.
Thank God.
Because the only thing worse than this happening… is for your child to believe they have to face it alone.
So here’s what I want every parent to know: Have this conversation. Today.
Before it happens. Before your child thinks they’ve run out of options.
Here’s a script you can use to start:
Quick Parent-to-Teen Script (Under 60 Seconds):
“Hey, I need to talk to you for a minute — this is important.”
There’s a scam going around that’s targeting teens — especially boys — especially great kids like you. Someone pretends to be a cute girl online and starts flirting. It feels real. Then they ask to move to another app, like Telegram, and eventually ask for a private photo.As soon as you send that photo, everything flips. The person threatens to send it to your friends, your family — unless you send them money. It’s called sextortion, and it’s happening to thousands of teens.
So even though you know this already — do not EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER send a sexy photo to someone, even if you think it’s your girlfriend. Or boyfriend. Or friend. STOP. Walk away. Breathe.
But I want you to know — if this ever happens to you, you can tell me. No punishment. No shame. I won’t be mad. I’ll be proud you told me. We’ll fix it together.
You’re never alone in this. Ever. Okay?
Okay, I need to stop, walk away, breathe.
I also learned from supporting my friend and their family through all of this last week that Meta is THE WORST.
Their “teen protections” are nothing but jazz hands , as my friend so aptly put it.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll walk you through how to better lock down parental controls on social media and tell you a bunch of things this family wishes someone had shown them.
What do you think? Be sure to join the conversation and let’s talk about all these big, important tech-ish things. 🫶🏼
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Jenn...thank you for sharing this. So clear and helpful ... and succinct. This should go out t every middle and high school in the country.