Delaware Woman Arrested in Sextortion Scam Targetting Young Men
Authorities call it a “sextortion” scheme. Kone’s co-conspirators allegedly recorded unwitting participants masturbating and committing other sexual acts in front of their computers. Then they blackmailed them.
The Justice Department claims that one of Kone’s co-conspirators was Siaka Ouattara, who was arrested in Cote d-Ivoire in February.
Blackmailed with Sex Images
The young men, some of whom were minors, did not realize the conspirators were surreptitiously recording them during sex chat and webcam sessions. After the recordings were made, the scammers contacted the victims along with clips of their sexual activity, threatening to tell their jobs, friends, and family unless they complied with the extorters’ monetary demands.
Prosecutors say the ring attempted to extort a whopping $6 million in total from their victims. They successfully extorted more than $1.6 million.
Operating the Financial Infrastructure
Prosecutors say that Kone’s role in the sextortion ring was facilitating the transfer of money from victims to overseas collaborators like Ouattara.
Charges against Kone and Ouattara include cyberstalking, money laundering, conspiracy to send interstate threats, and wire fraud. Both face 20 years in prison for each count.
Rise in Sextortion Crimes
The FBI says that sextortion schemes like this one are increasing in number and complexity. “Sextorters” may use threats of exposure and demand either sexually explicit photos or money. Sextortion attempts typically target young people, the majority of whom are males between the ages of 14 and 17, according to sextortion warning on the FBI’s website.
The FBI also notes that many of these cases lead to the suicide of the victims, who might be embarrassed to report sextortion attempts.
The FBI recommends that victims or someone with knowledge of sextortion attempts call their local FBI field office to get help.
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