Nigeria, Ivory Coast lead in sextortion globally, says new report

A new study has found financial sextortion schemes targeting teen boys to be on the rise, with Nigeria and Ivory Coast appearing as the origins of nearly half of reported cases.

The research by the U.S.-based Thorn, a nonprofit that builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse, found that reports of sextortion averaged 812 per week from August 2022 to August 2023, with more than two-thirds of the reports involving financial demands.

Working with the non-profit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), also based in the U.S., Thorn found that 90% of the victims were boys between 14 and 17. Of that figure, 38% of reports containing impact information indicate a payment was made; however, 27% of the victims reported continued extortion.

Unlike previous cases where roughly half of the victims knew their abuser from their offline community, the offenders behind these cases appear to be concentrated internationally, with 47% of reports showing ties to Nigeria and Ivory Coast, the report says.

Additional countries, though in lower volumes, also appear in reports, including the United States, Philippines, United Kingdom, and India.

“Financial sextortion represents a grave and growing threat to children, especially teenage boys,” said Julie Cordua, CEO of Thorn. “Unlike traditional forms of sextortion, these perpetrators demand money, leveraging fear and the threat of sharing intimate images to extort their victims before they have time to seek support.

“This study is critical to better understand how sextortion has impacted our communities,” said Michelle DeLaune, President and CEO of NCMEC.

“In the past year, we’ve been inundated with more than 800 sextortion-related reports per week. These are not just numbers; they represent the harrowing reality of children coerced and threatened, leaving them feeling isolated and powerless.”

Shift in Sextortion Dynamics

The groups said sextortion has increasingly become more transactional, and the focus has shifted from girls to boys.

Traditionally, sextortion cases often involved demands for sexual favours or relational commitments, predominantly affecting girls. Recent trends show a significant rise in financial exploitation, with teenage boys now being the primary targets, they said.

They identified notable similarities across incidents:

• Posing as Peers: Perpetrators frequently disguise themselves as other teens to lower victims’ inhibitions. They circumvent platform safeguards designed to prevent adults from interacting with minors.
• Catfishing Tactics: Most victims are deceived into sharing images through catfishing, where offenders typically send fake intimate images first. In 11% of cases, however, victims report being threatened with fake or manipulated images without having shared any themselves.
• Threats and Intimidation: Perpetrators use extreme, formulaic threats to “ruin” the victim’s life, such as spreading the images widely or threatening arrest. These threats are repeated nearly identically across victims to coerce them into paying rather than seeking help.
• Platforms Used: Facebook, Instagram, and Snap are the primary platforms for reporting sextortion to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. However, perpetrators also use GChat, WhatsApp, Telegram, and iMessage to communicate with victims.
• Payment Methods: Gift cards and Cash App are the main payment methods demanded by perpetrators.