Sea to Sky RCMP says it has noticed an increase in the number of sextortion schemes reported to police across the corridor within the past three months.
The sexual exploitation attempts are largely targeting male youth, according to a news release issued Wednesday, April 5. Following this rise in incidents, police are appealing to parents to have a conversation about safe online activity with their children—with a humorous twist.
Sextortion is a form of blackmail that usually entails the solicitation of sexual photos or videos from a target. The criminal will typically threaten to send the images or footage to the victim's family or other people, unless they agree to pay the extortionist or provide them with more sexual content. The RCMP urges anyone targeted by a sextortion attempt, regardless of their age, to report the incident to police. The detachments are also highlighting Cybertip!ca as once resource parents and teens should consider familiarizing themselves with.
"We know that to keep our youth safe, we need to spread awareness and encourage an open dialogue so that our youth know they are not alone to navigate these tricky situations," said Const. Katrina Boehmer, a member of Sea to Sky RCMP's General Investigation Section, in the release.
The national tip-line for reporting online sexual exploitation of children from coast to coast to coast is operated by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. According to the organization, the volume of luring reports submitted to the tip-line grew from 220 in 2018 to 2,013 by the end of 2022, representing an 815-per-cent increase in just four years.
The website also provides a wealth of educational resources about what sextortion entails, how it usually occurs, and the best course of action for parents and their kids who find themselves victimized by this crime.
Sea to Sky RCMP specifically pointed out Cypertip!ca's "Send a Naked Mole Rat" campaign as a particularly engaging resource parents can use to raise the topic of sexting and sextortion with their kids. The video below was released in 2017 and encourages teens to respond to requests for nudes with an equally explicit but significantly less consequential photo of a hairless rodent.
"Long, veiny and fleshy, the naked mole rat—you can call him Willy—looks a lot like that picture you were just about to send, except it's got two beady little eyes and four sharp little teeth at the tip. Oh, and it won't lead to sextortion," an actor states in the short clip.
The campaign and related resources can be found at a spinoff site, dontgetsextorted.ca. "Remember, the best way to fight sextortion is to prevent it. So don’t send nudes, send a naked mole rat instead," the site advises.
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