Editor’s note: This story discusses suicide and online sexual exploitation involving minors.
A new school year means new classes, new friends, and new group chats. But this time of year can turn teenage boys into targets for online predators.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says it received more than 50,000 reports of something called financial sextortion in 2025 alone.
Financial sextortion is a form of online blackmail.
It often starts with a message on social media. Predators typically pose as teenage girls and convince boys to send an explicit photo.
Then, and sometimes within minutes, they threaten to share that photo with the victim’s family, friends, classmates, or their entire school unless they pay.
The FBI says teenage boys between the ages of 14 and 17 are among the most common targets, although any child can be victimized. Paying does not guarantee the threats will stop. The FBI says offenders may continue demanding more money or share the image anyway.
Tragically, the emotional toll can be devastating. NCMEC says more than three dozen teenage boys nationwide have died by suicide after being targeted by financial sextortion.
ABC15 Mornings anchor Kaley O’Kelley reached out to Sarah Grado from the Valley-based organization notMYkid.
She says many boys suffer in silence because they feel ashamed, frightened, or worried they will be punished.
“Boys are on social media, and they get a message, and the profile looks like a teenage girl,” Grado said. “After, it’s a predator who uses that as leverage.”
Grado says parents should talk about this with their kids before it happens.
The goal is not simply taking away a phone. This is about setting expectations now and making sure children know they can go to a trusted adult without being blamed or shamed.
Parents can remind their children that people online may not be who they claim to be, even when a profile looks convincing or has mutual followers.
Kids should also know that a request to move a conversation to another app, send a private photo, keep a secret, or send money is a major warning sign.
If a child is targeted, experts say do not pay and do not send additional images.
Save the messages, username, profile information, and payment demands.
Report the account to the platform, block the offender, and contact law enforcement.
Families can also file a report with NCMEC’s CyberTipline.
NCMEC offers a free service called Take It Down that can help stop or limit the spread of explicit images taken before someone turned 18.
The service creates a digital fingerprint of the image without requiring it to be uploaded.
Parents should not ask a child to forward or download the image in order to use the service.
The FBI also warns that children can be blackmailed with altered or artificial intelligence-generated images.
A child should tell an adult about any threat, even if the image is fake.
The most important message for kids is this: You are not the one committing the crime. The predator is.
Thank your child for telling you. Focus first on protecting them, preserving the evidence, and getting help.
Reports can be made through NCMEC’s CyberTipline or by calling 1-800-THE-LOST.
Anyone in immediate danger should call 911.
Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts or emotional distress can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
