The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States has nabbed 22 cyber fraudsters who sexually blackmailed and extorted US minors.
It was gathered that the arrest formed part of “Operation Artemis,” an international operation launched in 2023 to fight the growing threat of sextortion among Nigerian-based sextortion rings.
In a statement on its website on Thursday, the FBI said the operation was necessitated by the growing rate of sextortion related suicide among America’s teenage population connected to Nigerian fraudsters.
The investigation, which was carried out in collaboration with other law enforcement bodies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria, led to the arrests of the suspects connected to the sextortion schemes.
About half of the 22 suspects in the latest arrest were directly linked to victims who took their own lives, the FBI said.
The victims of this crime are mostly minors between age 14-17 who are often tricked into sending intimate images and then blackmailed.
In many cases, the scammers, operating from Nigeria, pretend to be in a similar age range online to target mostly minors in the US. Over time, they establish trust through consistent interaction and potential romantic interest.
The FBI said once a trust was established, the fraudsters coerced their victims into taking and sharing compromising images of themselves.
“Offenders then threatened to release the compromising photos unless they received immediate payment, typically requested via gift cards, mobile payment services, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.
“Regardless of a payment being received or not, the perpetrators would often continue to manipulate their victims, leaving them feeling ashamed, isolated, and responsible,” it stated.