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Australian teenager’s ‘sextortion’ death; 2 Nigerians arrested
Sextortion is a growing type of cybercrime where a con artist poses as an online romantic partner and coerces an unsuspecting victim into sending them explicit photos.
According to Australian authorities on Monday, two individuals were taken into custody in Nigeria for allegedly attempting to extort an Australian teenager by threatening to post incriminating images of him online.
Investigators indicated that the child committed suicide as a result of threats he received from those involved in the purported “sextortion” scheme.
According to Australian authorities, the males had been communicating with the adolescent via the internet and threatened to publish “personal photos of the boy” unless he paid them Aus$500 (US$330).
Sextortion is a growing type of cybercrime where a con artist poses as an online romantic partner and coerces an unsuspecting victim into sending them explicit photos.
They then threaten to release the images if the victim does not pay up.
Working with authorities in South Africa and Nigeria, police said they had tracked the two men to “a slum in Nigeria”.
Under Nigerian law, local authorities “have the power to prosecute for Australian-based offences”, they added.
“The sextortion of children is a borderless crime, as these arrests show,” said Australian Federal Police commander Helen Schneider.
