KRONENWETTER, Wis. (WSAW) – A Northcentral Wisconsin mother is speaking out after her 15-year-old son died by suicide, saying an online scam known as “sextortion” is to blame.
The scheme is when scammers target people, often young boys, and coerce them into sending explicit images. They then threaten to release the photos or videos unless the target pays them money or produced, shares or live-streaming acts of self-harm, animal cruelty, sexual explicitness and/or suicide.
The FBI has warned of an increase in online sextortion cases, particularly from groups such as “764,” which operate within the U.S. and globally…