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The government is warning Americans about the rise of AI ‘sextortion’ that is sweeping the nation, and the attack has caused at least 20 suicides in recent years.
Sextortion occurs when an offender convinces the victim to send sexually explicit video images and then threatens to release them to the public if they do not receive more content or money.
However, these attacks are combined with artificial intelligence, giving criminals tools to create attractive characters and generate compelling conversations.
These attacks have increased 1,000 percent in the past 18 months, according to the Network Contagion Research Institute, driven by West African gangs targeting young people on Instagram, Snapchat and Wizz.
DailyMail.com spoke to a former police officer who shared warning signs of the attack, such as certain details on social media profiles and the type of language used.
These attacks have increased 1,000 percent in the past 18 months, according to the Network Contagion Research Institute, driven by West African gangs targeting young people on Instagram, Snapchat and Wizz.
Adam Pilton, who previously ran a cybercrime team, said: “I have seen and investigated many cases of sextortion. Victims are often devastated by what has happened and very ashamed.
“Sometimes, sex videos that victims shared with the suspect were drip-mailed to the victim’s employer, colleagues, friends and family to increase pressure on the victim to pay their ransom demands.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently issued a warning after discovering an increase in attacks since October 2022.
‘Sextortion can start on any site, app, messaging platform or game where people meet and communicate. In some cases, the offender’s first contact will be a threat,” the agency shared.
‘The person may claim to already have a revealing photograph or video of a child that will be shared if the victim does not send more photographs.
“However, most often this crime begins when young people believe they are communicating with someone their age who is interested in a relationship or someone who is offering them something of value.”
Former police officer Adam Pilton, cyber security consultant at CyberSmart
Warning Signs You Are Dealing with a Sextortionist
Pilton said the first warning sign is if you receive a friend request on social media from a stranger who is of the opposite sex and is attractive.
While this can happen very occasionally in real life, it is a classic sign of sextortion, Pilton said, and users should immediately be on guard.
There are also often obvious “red flags” about a sextortionist’s profile, Pilton said.
“The stranger’s social media profile often has friends you wouldn’t expect them to have, for example a young woman who has many older male friends,” he continued.
‘The stranger’s social media profile will often have limited personalized activity; For example, there will be no photos of the stranger socializing with other people tagged in that photo.
“The other key warning sign is that the stranger is interested in quickly building a relationship.”
How to detect sextortionists using AI
Attackers can use artificial intelligence to generate your profile pictures and employ chatbot software to generate compelling conversations, Pilton warned.
Key warning signs are inconsistency in the details of the photographs: if attackers use AI to generate images, the person’s appearance may change or the settings may vary between images.
Users should be wary of extremely quick responses and responses that don’t seem to take into account what you’ve said.
Inconsistent use of language (for example, switching between being affectionate and formal) is another warning sign, Pilton said.
What Sextortionists Say
If you’re contacted through a social media platform, a classic “red flag” is that the person immediately wants to move on to another platform like WhatsApp, Pilton explained.
“This allows attackers to evade the tools used by platforms to detect cybercriminals,” the former police officer continued.
Victims are urged not to delete any communication, even if it is embarrassing. The exchanges could be used to track down violators and prevent others from being taken advantage of.
‘Conversations will quickly turn sexual and attackers will ask for photographs at the beginning of the conversation.
“Other warning signs are that the stranger wants to keep your contact a secret or that the situation may be unbelievable or that you may feel uncomfortable.”
What to do if you are a target
Your first step should be to report the offender to the platform they are using and to authorities, Pilton said, although he also noted that victims should block any further contact.
“Make sure your privacy settings on all platforms are enabled and that you don’t share too much information,” he continued.
‘Don’t interact anymore. Don’t pay any ransom – the stranger will likely come back and ask you for more.
‘To look for help; Talking to a family member or friend is usually a good start. The longer you dwell on it, the harder it will be to talk about it.
‘However, it is very important to stress that, with the rapid increase in sextortion attempts we are seeing, we need to talk about this.
“Family, friends and even schools should raise awareness among those most vulnerable to this attack.”
The FBI said: “If young people are being exploited, they are victims of a crime and should report it.” Contact your local FBI office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.’
The agency also urged victims not to delete any communication, even if it is embarrassing.
The exchanges could be used to track down violators and prevent others from being taken advantage of.