'Having the talk" about sextortion
Today Extra: No matter how protected you think your child is, young people being targeted with sextortion has actually spiked recently. Sextortion is everywhere and I'm not saying that lightly - it is everywhere.
Teen boys and young men are often targeted and they are very susceptible, so will pay up to avoid the embarrassment of being caught out.
I talked to someone the other day who just paid out $2500 - someone's online, they are flirting with you, then it gets quite sexy straight up and what they try to do is to get you to send a photo or a video of yourself doing something sexual and once they have received it, the extortion part happens.. They start making demands of pay, otherwise they'll send it around to all your contacts, your family and friends - imagine that happening to a 13 or 14-year-old boy.
If you as a parent aren't having the conversations around this subject matter, then who is?. We need to step up as parents.
To start those conversations:
One, you have to inform yourself, your child will see straight through you if you don't know what you're talking about and I think it's also good to have the kind of conversations like when you're driving in the car, it is a lot less confrontational.
Show your child you have got their back, you're not judging and work out a plan of action 'Alright, if this happens online, this is what we'll do first, then this, then this. They know you are going to look after them, you are setting up an every possible case scenario. You openly having their back reduces their vulnerability to sextortion.
Originally published here