The recent case of two students at George Mason University who sent explicit videos to someone who then blackmailed them into sending money has drawn new attention to a crime that is becoming a significant threat to children.

Writing for the Washington Post, long-time criminal justice reporter Tom Jackman said police believe the unidentified suspects had gained the trust of the two students online and enticed them to broadcast sex acts through their webcams.

“The suspects then recorded the footage of the victims,” Capt. Brian R. Cozby wrote in an e-mail to Jackman, “and threatened to circulate the videos on the Internet unless the victims paid $5,000.”

The university is not releasing any further information about the case, such as what is being done to find the suspects and to help the victims.

This despicable crime is known as sextortion. An Interpol report describes sextortion as being blackmail which involves sexual information or images that are used to extort sexual favors and/or money from the victim.

“This online blackmail is often conducted by sophisticated organized criminal networks operating out of business-like locations similar to call centers," the report continues.

"Though there is no one method by which criminals target their victims, many individuals are targeted through websites including social media, dating, webcam or adult pornography sites. Criminals often target hundreds of individuals around the world simultaneously, in an attempt to increase their chances of finding a victim.”

In today’s increasingly permissive society, it has not proven too difficult to acquire this kind of prurient material.

USA Today reports an increase of 32 percent in sextortion complaints in the last few years, rising from 5,300 in 2010 to 7,000 in 2013.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reportedly received 800 sextortion-related tips between 2013 and 2015 with 78 percent of the victims being female. In three-quarters of the cases, the offender was seeking more explicit material rather than money or sex.

As a result, sextortion has become the most significantly growing threat to children - and it is taking a heavy toll on its victims.

In a new report entitled “National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction,” the Justice Department reports that “Sextortion victims engage in cutting, have depression, drop out of school or grades decline, as well as engage in other forms of self-harm at an alarming rate. In fact, a 2015 FBI analysis of 43 sextortion cases involving child victims revealed at least two victims committed suicide and at least ten more attempted suicide. Thus, at least 28 percent of these cases had at least one sextortion victim who committed or attempted suicide.”

Jackman recounts one of the better known cases that occurred in 2010 of a 13-year-old  Canadian girl named Amanda Todd who exposed herself during a video chat on the web.

“The recipient then messaged her on Facebook and demanded more, or else,” Jackman writes. “When Todd refused to cooperate, the recipient shipped a photo to Todd’s Facebook friends. In 2012, she posted a moving video about her predicament. Soon after, she committed suicide.”

USA Today reported in 2014 that Dutch police arrested Aydin Coban, 35, and accused him of extorting Todd and dozens of other girls, as well as adult men, in Canada, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands.

"In the back of my mind, I never thought of a predator," said Amanda's mother, Carol Todd. "I thought the person who wanted the pictures was an older teen. I was never thinking it was a 35-year-old man on the other end. I've learned about the whole dark world that's out there on the Internet."

Since her daughter’s tragic death, she has been urging parents to talk to their teens about how they are conducting their “virtual lives.”

The Justice Department is collaborating with the NCMEC to raise awareness of sextortion to law enforcement and social service agencies.

In the meantime, Interpol offers the following advice to anyone who has found themselves in this unfortunate situation.

“Immediately cease all contact with the individual and report the matter to your local police and online service provider. If the blackmail is occurring through a social network, also alert the administrator.”

Finally, they caution: “Do not pay the money which is being demanded.”

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One of the most important things we can do for our girls is to teach them what real beauty is all about in order to dissuade them from participating in this kind of behavior. Check out our new program, Young Women of Grace, which is a fun way to teach teens how to respect themselves!