Why Meta is publishing a new video in the feeds of millions of teenagers this week

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Parents, law enforcement and social media platforms are scrambling to stay ahead of a growing trend that News 5 has been tracking for years.

Unfortunately, this can quickly become deadly.

The number of cases of financial sextortion continues to increase at an alarming rate in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Targeted people, like Tamia Woods’ son James, are forced to send intimate images of themselves.

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Criminals then use embarrassment and shame, as well as the threat of sending the images to family and friends, to extort money.

Tamia told us that James received 200 messages on Instagram and just 20 hours later he took his own life.

“It really broke our hearts, and our hearts forever will,” Tamia said.

The Streetsboro teen was among nearly 27,000 cases of financial extortion reported last year, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Statistics show that boys appear to be the most targeted, with the criminals’ platform of choice being Instagram.

Meta, Instagram’s parent company, posted a video to the feeds of millions of teenagers in the United States on Tuesday.

It explains what sextortion is, how to detect it quickly, and what to do if you become a victim.

Good Morning Cleveland anchor Mike Brookbank spoke with Ravi Sinha, Head of Child Safety Policy at Meta, about the role parents play.

Sinha said parents should be on the lookout for someone they don’t know reaching out to their teen aggressively and encouraging them to send intimate images.

“Get a sense of what your teen is doing in the real world and online and make sure you create a space where they feel comfortable coming to you about what’s going on in their life,” said Sinha. .

Sinha said the move is part of Meta’s ongoing efforts to ensure teens receive age-appropriate online experiences.

“And so a lot of this, we’re really trying to lead the way in making sure that people understand what sextortion is and that they have protections built into the product that we can help protect people,” Sinha said.

If parents need help approaching and talking with their teens, resources are available at Instagram.com/preventsextortion.