'Sextortion' of Canadian teens spikes 40%, prompts warning

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection says ithas seen a 40 per centspike in teenage "sextortion" in the past sixmonths.

Nearly half of the victims are teenage boys, and the statistics areso significant thatit hasprompted the Winnipeg-basedagency to issue a warning to parents across the country.

"We need to get in front of this," saidSignyArnason, director of Cybertip.ca, one of the programs operated by the centre."We don't want to see any more kids subjected to this."

Predators are meeting their victims in online game chat roomsand social media sites like Facebook, Arnasonsaid.

Their conversations start off harmless. The teen is then invited to engage in a private chat over Skype.

Eventually they're coerced intotakingoff their clothes or performing a sex act on awebcam. The victim thinks they aretalking to someone their own age, butthey're not.

Thevideo is thenused to extort money or additional sexual content from the teen.

"What we're seeing for the most part is that they're in fact going after money,"saidArnason. "So what they'll do is, they'll threaten that they've now got this sexual content [and] that they're going topost it online."

• Sextortion online becoming 'more prevalent'
• Online sexual exploitation: What parents should do
• the fifth estate: The Sextortion of Amanda Todd
• the fifth estate: What is sextortion?

Arnason saidthe child advocacy group receives a tip a week from a teenvictim. She calls that"a big deal" becausemost will never come forward to report what's happening to them.

"We are imploring parents to get in there and have these good discussions with their kids," said Arnason. "If you leave it alone you're putting them at risk, especially if you know part of what they'redoing is going on live webcam."

There are threekey points Arnason urges parents to make with their children.

First, know the person on the other side of the live cam. Shesays there are computer programs out there that allow predators to play pre-recorded videos over a live stream.For example, they might play a video of an attractive teenage girl undressing to entice a teenage boy to do the same.

Second, it's simple to record what's streaming over a live camerawithout the other person knowing.

"As a teenager you live in the hereand now, you think you've done something, it's live it's over" Arnason said. "They're not contemplating and considering that the person on the other side is quite easily recording everything they're doing which is then used against them"

Lastly, don't ever comply with a predatordemands, whether it's sending money or making another video.

"We don't want teens to be sucked into this threat that the stuff will be posted online when in most cases they're seeking money and if they don't get it they're just moving onto the next one," said Arnason.

Shesays more often than not the videosdon't end up online, even if avictim refuses to pay.

"In most cases they're seeking money and if they don't get it they're just moving onto the next one," saidArnason.

Thatsentiment is echoed by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

"Do not pay," said spokesmanDaniel Williams. "All you are doing is making them determined to do this to more people. If it stops paying, they'll stop doing it".

Williams says there have been cases where a perpetrator has uploaded a video onto YouTube, but it was taken down after the victim contacted the website.

West African gangs suspected

In 2012, the federal governmentagencyreceived fourcomplaints about "sextortion."Oneperson hadbeen victimized and lost $100 as a result. So far this year, 23 victims have come forward,according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

"We're lucky to see one to three per centof what's out there, and that's in normal fraud cases. Not something as embarrassing as 'sextortion,'" said Williams.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre believes many of the cases arecommitted by west African gangs.

"Victims are being told to send $800 or $1500to Western Union in the Ivory Coast or Senegal or, 'I'll put it on YouTube,'" said Williams.

Arnasonalso urgesparents toreport their concerns toCybertip.ca.

Since 2005, the tipline has received more than 160,000 reports of online sexual exploitation of children. Those tips have led to about 500 arrests.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says that so far this year, it hashad 120sextortion-related complaints:

2012

• 4 complaints
• 1 victim
• $100 loss

2013

• 97 complaints
• 16 victims
• $26,000 loss

2014

• 195 complaints
• 32 victims
• $85,000 loss

2015

• 120 complaints
• 23 victims
• $27,000 loss