Florida’s Attorney General is warning that artificial intelligence is making it easier for criminals to trick kids into sending nude photos and videos and then blackmail them into sending money, or worse.
At the same time, Attorney General Ashley Moody wants children to know that if they do fall victim, they are not alone and there are law enforcement and other resources ready to help.
It’s an important message Moody wants to make clear after at least three teenagers — one in California, one in Michigan, and one in South Carolina — took their own lives in the last 18 months after being extorted online.
Now, AI is making the deception more believable.
“So, what we’re seeing with the evolution of AI, criminal perpetrators have been limited in ways that they could access kids or even the methods they could use to get kids to share information or photos or videos. There’s a whole new world and opportunity available to criminals,” Moody told News4JAX.
She said with sextortion, criminals will use AI to help pose as someone the child’s own age, convincing the child it’s okay to share explicit images. Children often agree because the criminal promises the images will be deleted or disappear, but that’s another lie.
“What happens on the other line, on the other side of that, criminals can use screenshots, they can use other applications or devices to save those images. And of course, then they use them to blackmail children,” Moody warned.
The blackmail could mean forcing the victim to send money, perform explicit acts, or even force the victim to meet somewhere in person.
“That’s where we’re seeing children who become very embarrassed. They become fearful. They don’t want their parents or anyone else to know about this,” said Moody.
For any child being victimized by sextortion, Moody said to go to your parents so they can go with you to report it to law enforcement. Or, if you aren’t comfortable with that, go to your resource officer at your school and tell them.
“We’ve seen it play out in Florida where a school resource officer was trusted enough by a kid. They shared information and that resource officer was able to help them stop the perpetrator and get them behind bars,” Moody explained.
Not only is that child able to be helped, but it can also protect other kids from being victimized themselves.
The FBI says at least 7,000 reports of sextortion of minors occurred last year in the United States. The majority of those targeted were teenage boys between the ages of 14 and 17, but some victims were as young as 10.
“What we don’t want is what’s happened to other individuals across the nation. Young children that have taken their own lives because of this sextortion trend that we are seeing,” said Moody. “We do have methods out there to help. All is not lost if you do become victim to this.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children lists what to do if you fall victim to a sextortion case:
- Report sextortion to law enforcement
- Know that cooperating rarely stops a blackmailer
- Flag the social media account via the platform’s safety feature
- Block the suspect on the social media platform, but do not delete messages because they can be helpful in stopping the blackmailer
- Use resources like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help get explicit images off the internet
- Remember, the blackmailer is to blame, not you. Even if you made a choice you regret, what they are doing is a crime.
As a parent herself, Moody told News4JAX that moms, dads, and caregivers need to have new conversations with their kids as new tech makes it easier for children to be targeted and terrorized.
“I am a mother facing the same challenges, facing these same uncomfortable conversations that must be had,” said Moody. “This is a new age. This is a new challenge for parents. Perpetrators and criminal offenders are reaching our children and connecting with our children in ways that were never possible.”
Moody says the discussions have moved far beyond the ones we used to have, like telling our kids if they see a stranger in a van, not to talk to them or approach them.
“We now have to talk to our children about if someone is trying to engage with you online and you don’t know them in real life, you need to be cautious,” she said because adults are posing as children.
“In my own home, we have a rule,” Moody said. “You can’t be friends with someone online if they are not your friend in real life.”
Moody’s office offers an online safety toolkit to help you start the conversation with your kids – including the apps you need to be aware of and how to use parental control.
Click here for a downloadable and printable toolkit.
Remember, help is also one phone call away. Moody says if you are feeling overwhelmed, call 211 to seek help. If you are in emotional distress, call 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.