Two individuals in Nigeria were apprehended by Australian police for allegedly attempting to extort an Australian adolescent by threatening to expose compromising photographs of him online.
Tragically, the boy took his own life after being targeted by the suspects in the “sextortion” scheme.
The perpetrators, who had engaged with the teenager on the internet, demanded Aus$500 (US$330) from him, threatening to disclose his personal photos if he refused to comply.
Sextortion, a growing cybercrime phenomenon, involves scammers posing as romantic interests online, persuading unsuspecting victims to share explicit images, and subsequently blackmailing them with exposure threats.
Collaborating with law enforcement in South Africa and Nigeria, authorities successfully traced the two suspects to a slum area in Nigeria.
Under Nigerian law, local authorities “have the power to prosecute for Australian-based offences”, they added.
“The sextortion of children is a borderless crime, as these arrests show,” said Australian Federal Police commander Helen Schneider.
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