Schools’ ‘sextortion epidemic’ alert: Teachers are warned foreign gangs are blackmailing hundreds of children online over intimate pics – as mother of boy, 16, who killed himself tells victims ‘no matter how terrified you feel, this can be fixed’

Teachers were given an unprecedented alert yesterday about pupils being targeted in ‘sextortion’ scams.

The National Crime Agency warned all 570,000 primary and secondary teachers across Britain that children as young as five are at risk.

It is the first time the NCA has issued a national alert to schools and experts say it is urgently needed to stem a ‘sextortion epidemic’.

The number of children targeted by criminal gangs has risen by 266 per cent in just two years. The NCA said 243 fell victim in 2020 but this rocketed to 890 in 2022. 

Ruthless criminal gangs from West Africa and South East Asia are luring in children online, tricking them into believing they are in a genuine relationship or friendship with someone their own age before demanding they share intimate photographs or film themselves on a webcam.

Blackmailers then threaten to release nude or semi-nude photos of them, either real or fake, to their friends and family unless they pay up.

The NCA warned yesterday that at least three children killed themselves as a result. In December, Murray Dowey, 16, from Dunblane, Perthshire, took his own life hours after being targeted in a sextortion blackmail plot with potential links to Nigeria.

In October 2022, Dinal De Alwis, 16, from Sutton, south London, killed himself after being blackmailed by a stranger suspected to be in Nigeria claiming to have nude pictures of him.

Police say all age groups and genders are being targeted, but a large proportion of cases have involved male teenagers aged from 14 to 18.

In 2015, 428 sextortion cases were reported to police, most involving adults. And the latest figures for online blackmail show 13,322 cases in England and Wales in the year to September 2022. That equates to 36 victims a day.

More than half of cases were closed with no suspect identified because the perpetrators are often overseas.

Investigators say the crimes reported to police are the tip of the iceberg and they believe gangs are making millions of pounds targeting British children.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales found almost one in ten children aged 13 to 15 received a sexual message online in the past year and two thirds of those involved photos. Yesterday security minister Tom Tugendhat warned: ‘Sextortion destroys lives. It is often driven by highly sophisticated organised crime groups who exploit vulnerable people for profit.

‘It’s vital that technology companies take responsibility for the safety of their users by implementing stronger safeguards. I would urge parents to talk to their children about their use of social media. Even sites that many assume to be safe may pose a risk.’

In some instances children’s social media accounts are being hacked by blackmailers who impersonate them to target their friends and in other cases children are threatened that their own account has been compromised and their photos and messages will be sent to all contacts if they don’t pay up.

Marie Smith of the NCA said: ‘They’re extremely malicious, they do not care about that child or that child’s life.

‘This is why it’s an alert more so than part of our broader education programme because of this callousness that we’re seeing, it’s extremely dangerous.’

The NCA alert provides advice about spotting the signs of abuse, supporting young people and encouraging them to seek help. It also includes guidance for parents and carers on how to talk to their child about sextortion, and how to support them if they become a victim.

It advises victims not to pay, to block the offender and inform police.