‘I have your nudes and everything to ruin your life’ – the cyber scammers targeting teenagers

BBC Evan Boettler’s parents describe him as a bright, funny teenager who loved to fish, play sport and hunt “I have your nudes and everything needed to ruin your life”. This chilling message was received on social media by US teenager Evan Boettler, from someone he had previously believed to be a young girl – in fact, it was a cyber-scammer. Just 90 minutes after receiving the first message, the 16-year-old took his own life. Sextortion – sexual extortion – is one of the fastest-growing online crimes. Victims – often teenagers in the US and Europe – are tricked into sending intimate photos or videos, which the scammers threaten to pass on unless they are paid. “When they finally told us that night that he was gone, it didn’t make any sense. I don’t understand how this could happen to our family,” says Evan’s mother Kari. In the Missouri home she shares with Evan’s father Brad, she describes their son as a bright, funny teenager who loved to fish, play sport and hunt. They tell me how late on a cold afternoon in early January 2024, Evan was contacted on Snapchat by someone he believed was a girl called JennyTee60.
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