I am posting this thread just to warn parents and boys who may visit this site about a disturbing trend out there today. Some young boys have taken their own lives over it. Please try to educate our young people that anything that goes on social media can be captured and, in these schemes, used against them. Here's how it works:
A bad actor posing as someone else online — particularly as a young, beautiful woman from the United States or Western Europe — will send messages or friend requests to numerous potential targets and then strike up conversation. Once the perpetrator establishes trust with a victim, they convince that victim to share nude images.
Once the images are sent, the perpetrator will screenshot them. Snapchat alerts users when other users take screenshots of their messages or photos, but bad actors use an app or another phone to capture the nude image so they don't get caught.
Then, perpetrators send the image back to the victim and threaten to expose it if they do not send money. Some bad actors will use "templates" that place the nude image next to a screenshot of the victim's friend lists on Instagram or other social media apps.
It's a different world out there from that which many of us had grown up. Be aware of the dangers. There is also an alarming rise in percentage of depression in young people. Social media no doubt plays a role. Unfortunately, those of us who grew up in a different time aren't always savvy to some of what is out there or even aware of the risks.
A bad actor posing as someone else online — particularly as a young, beautiful woman from the United States or Western Europe — will send messages or friend requests to numerous potential targets and then strike up conversation. Once the perpetrator establishes trust with a victim, they convince that victim to share nude images.
Once the images are sent, the perpetrator will screenshot them. Snapchat alerts users when other users take screenshots of their messages or photos, but bad actors use an app or another phone to capture the nude image so they don't get caught.
Then, perpetrators send the image back to the victim and threaten to expose it if they do not send money. Some bad actors will use "templates" that place the nude image next to a screenshot of the victim's friend lists on Instagram or other social media apps.
It's a different world out there from that which many of us had grown up. Be aware of the dangers. There is also an alarming rise in percentage of depression in young people. Social media no doubt plays a role. Unfortunately, those of us who grew up in a different time aren't always savvy to some of what is out there or even aware of the risks.
