More than 1000 Scots children have been blackmailed in ‘sextortion’ scams run by ruthless foreign gangs, the Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Shock figures reveal 1200 children – some as young as 10 – have been the victims of vile online threats and extortion.
The vast majority have seen criminals typically use real and fake images to pose as young men and women online before tricking victims into sending sexually explicit material and then blackmailing them.
Their tactics see them threaten to distribute the photos to their victims’ friends and family and publish them online unless they pay a ransom.
The heartless crooks operate in obscurity from locations all over the world and have tormented children so much that some have taken their own lives out of fear.
Murray Dowey committed suicide after falling prey to sextortion
In an example of the global scale of sextortion, Instagram owner Meta last week removed 63,000 social media accounts linked to fraudsters operating in Nigeria.
The worrying statistics come after one Scots teenager targeted by the gangs took his own life.
Last December, 16-year-old Murray Dowey from Dunblane, Perthshire, committed suicide after falling prey to sextortion.
Responding to the Scottish Mail on Sunday’s findings, Heidi Kempster, Internet Watch Foundation Deputy CEO, said: ‘Sexual extortion is an awful crime and it is horrifying to see how many children are being targeted in Scotland and globally.’
She added: ‘Children are never to blame in these cases, they are vulnerable victims of shameless online abusers who seek to exploit them for financial gain.’
In 2021, Police Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable Pat Campbell hit out at the scale of ‘sextortion’ across the country, revealing that the youngest victim was aged ten.
He had said: ‘It is a particularly worrying trend that we are now seeing increasing numbers of children being targeted and threatened in this way.’
However, as our investigation shows, the scale of the problem has rocketed since then.
Crime statistics show incidents of threats and extortion in Scotland have risen every year from just 290 in 2019/20 to a record 2,080 this year.
Scottish Government analysis based on a sample of police records now shows 560 children under the age of 16, including 50 under the age of 13, were victims in that time.
A further 660 teenagers aged 16 and 17 were also targeted.
Last year, justice secretary Angela Constance confirmed that while not all online crimes of threats and extortion necessarily involve sextortion ‘it is very likely a high proportion (and certainly the majority) of the cases’ do.
The figures, which show the vast majority of victims are male, are based on analysis of cyber crime data and give a broad indication of the age and gender of victims.
Police Scotland itself told this paper the issue is likely to be even worse than current figures show.
A force spokesman said: ‘We are experiencing an increase in the number of sextortion incidents being reported and although we are encouraged that victims appear more confident in coming forward, we know from our partners that it is still likely to be an under-reported offence.’
The National Crime Agency has even asked teachers to help spot signs their pupils are becoming victims, with teenage boys thought to be among the most vulnerable groups.
Police Scotland has said most offenders are ‘likely to be outside the UK,’ which it said ‘makes these crimes very difficult to detect’.
This was the case in the tragic case of Murray Dowey.
The schoolboy was contacted on social media platform Instagram by someone claiming to be a young girl.
In truth, this was a scammer, who tricked him into sending an intimate image. Within hours he was subjected to cruel threats and blackmail.
In an interview with ITV, his mother Ros struggled to comprehend the ordeal her son must have gone through.
She said: ‘The panic and terror he must have been in for however long this went on, whether it was minutes or hours, I’m devastated for him, that he was just obviously in such a state that he thought taking his life was the only thing he could do.’
It’s thought the culprits behind the scam were based in Nigeria. As such, Police Scotland are working with authorities there to find those responsible.
The case has similarities to that of tragic teenager Daniel Perry.
In 2013, the 17 year old, from Fife, killed himself after being tricked into making explicit webcam recordings.
The apprentice mechanic believed he was talking online to a girl in the US but was told by the scammers the conversations had been recorded and would be shared with friends and family unless he paid up.
Following his death, Police Scotland uncovered an internet trail that led to the Philippines and links to organised crime groups there.
Responding to our story, Police Scotland said people targeted by sextortion scammers should not pay and should not be embarrassed or scared to report it to police.
A spokesman added: ‘People shouldn’t panic, there is support available from policing and partner agencies.
‘We want people to know they will be treated with respect and dignity and the circumstances investigated professionally. We will continue to work closely with partners to raise awareness and offer support.’
Earlier this year the National Crime Agency (NCA) warned all 57,000 primary and secondary teachers across Britain that children are at risk.
Marie Smith of the NCA said: ‘They’re extremely malicious, they do not care about that child or that child’s life.
‘This is why it’s an alert (rather) than part of our broader education programme because of this callousness that we’re seeing, it’s extremely dangerous.’
The NCA alert provided advice about spotting the signs of abuse, supporting young people and encouraging them to seek help.
It also included guidance for parents and carers on how to talk to their child about sextortion, and how to support them if they become a victim.
It advised victims not to pay, to block the offender and inform police.
■ For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a branch or go to www.samaritans.org
