Teenagers across the world are being targeted by criminals online who are posing as someone else to trick their victims into sending sexual photos or videos before blackmailing them for money
A chilling 10-word message on social media was one of the last things teenager Evan Boettler read before he tragically took his own life at the age of 16.
At the time, Evan believed that the message – “I have your nudes and everything needed to ruin your life” – was sent from a young girl. In a harrowing turn of events, it emerged that the message had actually been sent from a cyber-scammer.
The parents of Evan, Kari and Brad Boettler told the BBC how their teenage son was initially contacted by someone he believed was a girl called JennyTee60 on Snapchat. However, within minutes, “Jenny” had tricked Evan into sharing explicit images of himself and began ruthlessly blackmailing him.
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Just 90 minutes after receiving the first message, Evan, from the US, tragically took his own life in January 2024. “When they finally told us that night that he was gone, it didn’t make any sense. I don’t understand how this could happen to our family,” Evan’s mum said.
His parents described their son as a “bright, funny teenager who loved to fish, play sport and hunt.”
Sadly, this type of crime, called sextortion, which ultimately ended Evan’s life, isn’t uncommon and is soaring online. The crime sees victims, often teenagers, being persuaded into sending sexual photos or videos of themselves, which scammers will threaten to share unless they pay money.
It was reported that during the horrific scam on Evan, the criminal demanded his Facebook login details. After using this, the scammer left an IP address behind, which was traced back to multiple locations in Nigeria.
An investigation discovered a group of fraudsters known as the “Yahoo Boys” in Lagos. These are reported to be young men, often in their 20s, who live in poverty-stricken areas and are looking to earn fast cash by targeting innocent victims online.
An insider claimed that the sextortion scammers “open a female account using fake names from fake generators”, so they can get “names of people from the country” they want. They set up the profile and begin to target their victims, typically teenagers in the US and across Europe.
The man, who has targeted teenagers through sextortion, believes that those born in the West automatically means “privilege”, and so doesn’t understand why they wouldn’t be able to pay. He said: “I don’t feel bad because I need the money.”
When asked why he commits such a chilling crime, he replied: “Because their sex drive is so high, and young boys are scared of their pictures being released to their class groups, their parents and their friends.”
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
