A new report highlights the alarming rise of 'financial sextortion,' a cybercrime increasingly targeting minors in North America and Australia. The crime is being popularized on social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Scribd, with 'Yahoo Boys,' a cybercriminal network from West Africa, being a major proponent. These criminals are producing and distributing sextortion training materials, fostering a culture that promotes this activity as a quick path to wealth. The study also points out that social media companies could do more to combat this transnational crime threat, which is causing a significant number of American deaths, according to Paul Raffile, a senior intelligence analyst with the National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance (NCRI).
Researchers detail the rise of sextortion of young users on TikTok, Instagram, and other apps, driven by Yahoo Boys, an informal West African cybercriminal gang (@lorakolodny / NBC News) https://t.co/5GejjokMXG đź“« Subscribe: https://t.co/OyWeKSRpIM https://t.co/zefyPoIj5Q
Sextortion is a “transnational crime threat that is actually causing a significant number of American deaths,” said Paul Raffile, a senior intelligence analyst with the NCRI. https://t.co/0pAHtNHO4T https://t.co/0pAHtNHO4T
Sextortion is fastest-growing crime targeting minors in North America – and social media companies can do more to stop it, study finds https://t.co/wQYORhj48A
A form of cybercrime called “financial sextortion” is rapidly rising in North America and Australia, with a major portion driven by a non-organized cybercriminal group in West Africa who call themselves “Yahoo Boys,” according to a new study. https://t.co/WvLb3byQIJ
In a new report, researchers found sextortion training materials on Tiktok, YouTube and Scribd. The content was made by “Yahoo Boys” in West Africa, where a culture has sprung up promoting sextortion as a way to get rich quickly. https://t.co/v6EtXT9SdN
Sextortion is being popularized on social media by the 'Yahoo Boys' crime network, according to new report https://t.co/v6EtXT9SdN