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Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

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Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#71

In this day and age, if you fall for something like that, just refuse to pay and say you'll tell people it's an AI fake. I think the days of this sort of scam being very effective are over, or will be soon.

The thing is, it never makes sense to fulfill the demands of a blackmailer. The reason is that no matter what you do, the blackmailer either wants something from you, or keeps collecting more blackmail material until he can get something from you. They don't actually care about leaking your stuff and even if they do, they want to maintain leverage so they don't do it all at once.

Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#72
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how exactly is a local cop in the US supposed to enforce the law against someone who (both legally and physically) is a resident of a country on the other side of the globe (Nigeria)? Asking because that’s the situation the article in the OP is talking about, and I don’t see how any of what you said applies to it.

> And how exactly is a local cop in the US supposed to enforce the law against someone who (both legally and physically) is a resident of a country on the other side of the globe (Nigeria)? > Asking because that’s the situation the article in the OP is talking about, and I don’t see how any of what you said applies to it. The perpetrator I am thinking of was a foreign national, but was a student in the USA, attending…

Eh yes, and no. A lot of precincts don't have cybercrime resources and can't do much. Especially in the US, you'd be surprised at how little cooperation different agencies have.

Best to contact a cyber division of some sort, especially sexual harassment task forces and non-profits. They're usually able to get the ball moving. Local PDs, especially in Metro areas, simply don't have the resources. It's a sad reality.

Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#73
post #34

I don't understand what would motivate someone to ever send an explicit photo of themselves to a stranger. The whole premise of this scam makes no sense. Like, is this not the most basic of the basics of online safety?

You go on a dating app, a girl responds with her nudes and you send yours. It turns out it was a guy looking to extort you.

Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#74
post #62

Some thoughts I've had for years: A. My understanding is an underage teen who takes a nude selfie and sends it can be charged with distributing "child porn." This is a serious problem and should not be true. If other people forward it, they should be charged, but a teenager should not get in legal trouble for making a nude selfie and sending it privately. B. We need to culturally get over a lot of our hangups about c…

AI generating realistic nude images from normal images will further these things. Because then there will be nudes for everyone, it will be impossible to prove what is real and what is fake, and therefore pointlessness of chasing of 'illegal" numbers will become obvious to more people.

This is going to make this kind of racket more common, and also provide some kind of defence if it goes wrong: "they're fakes" will be more believable.

But it takes some serious mental resilience to contemplate that as a teenager when someone is threatening to send your nudes to the people you love. Not many kids are going to have that kind of intestinal fortitude.

The tendency of porn to give men severe anxiety about their genitals is playing into this; kids are more embarrassed/ashamed about their bodies because all the other penises they've seen are so huge.

We need to get really cool about a whole bunch of stuff really quickly if we're going to make this (and other problems) go away. I don't think AI is going to be part of that.

Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#75

Some thoughts I've had for years: A. My understanding is an underage teen who takes a nude selfie and sends it can be charged with distributing "child porn." This is a serious problem and should not be true. If other people forward it, they should be charged, but a teenager should not get in legal trouble for making a nude selfie and sending it privately. B. We need to culturally get over a lot of our hangups about c…

You write church, but it should be parents. Remember those days when parents were held responsible for their kids, how they behave, and whom they become in adult life?

They (us) don't have full control in later teens, but everything leading up to it, mostly yes. But for every parent I see raising kids the hard way (tons of time spent together consistently every day, being a positive role model, motivating and supporting them in all the right directions while explaining in detail the rest), I see the other way (obsessed by their pathetic office careers, kids with phones/screens from very early age that then go mental if they have to spend weekend without them, parents addicted to their phones/other screens too, overweight, depressed, without any real healthy passion(s) in their lives).

The results, I mean the kids, always show how parenting went (barring say some inborne mental issues and traumatic accidents, that I have no right to comment on).

I'd say this leans much more heavily on father too, like it or not. Mother is a safe haven and initial care and nurture, but father is a) hardcore role model for the boys, and b) a template what to look for in partners later for girls. Yeah, missing dad syndrome is brutal, every single effin' time, best mothers do minimize this and thats about it. I don't like it, its deeply unfair, not sure to whom to complain to.

Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#76

While my heart goes out to all the victims' families, what are platforms like Facebook supposed to do here? Are they supposed to monitor the content of the chats? Some would call that eavesdropping. The sad fact is that desperate people exist. And these desperate people are willing to do despicable things to make a buck.

Facebook does monitor - and sell - all user data.

You don’t get to say “we will read your messages to sell ads, we will straight up sell your message history to other companies, but no we can’t do anything to protect users from trivially detectable scams.

Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#77

Some thoughts I've had for years: A. My understanding is an underage teen who takes a nude selfie and sends it can be charged with distributing "child porn." This is a serious problem and should not be true. If other people forward it, they should be charged, but a teenager should not get in legal trouble for making a nude selfie and sending it privately. B. We need to culturally get over a lot of our hangups about c…

Unfortunately, I've noticed that the so-called "public opinion" is only getting more prude, and the denial about teenagers having sex drive is only getting worse. Basically nobody wants to be labelled a pedophile, so nobody wants to touch that problem with a three-meter stick.

[deleted]

Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#78

In this day and age, if you fall for something like that, just refuse to pay and say you'll tell people it's an AI fake. I think the days of this sort of scam being very effective are over, or will be soon.

I was a teenager a long time ago, but I remember the anxiety and shame about my body that was involved in puberty.

It's a really, really brave teenager that's going to be able to front up with naked photos sent to his parents and friends and say "they're fake". And, of course, if they're not fake and one person finds out, everyone will know soon enough. This kind of stuff is what teenage drama is made of.

From the article: the photo included his pyjamas, which matched hers. How is an AI going to know the exact pattern of pyjamas he wore? It might, but even asking that question is a problem if you're the victim.

I don't think ignoring the problem and telling the victim to toughen up is helping.

Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#79

Why is it called "scam" and "fraud"? It is typical revenge porn, sexual abuse and distribution of child pornography. There is a strong network to support rape victims, and it should be used for such cases.

> It is typical revenge porn

No, it isn't typical, you are confusing "revenge" with "extortion."

The scammers aren't doing it because they are jilted lovers, obsessed stalkers, or even just bullies: They set out from the very beginning to create a relationship to extort cash.

Re: Scammers are targeting teenage boys on social media and driving some to suicide

#80

Some thoughts I've had for years: A. My understanding is an underage teen who takes a nude selfie and sends it can be charged with distributing "child porn." This is a serious problem and should not be true. If other people forward it, they should be charged, but a teenager should not get in legal trouble for making a nude selfie and sending it privately. B. We need to culturally get over a lot of our hangups about c…

> If other people forward it, they should be charged

It’s more complicated than that. Due to a new law in Germany, a teacher getting to know that these images are floating around and forwarding them to the respective parent could be charged for distributing child porn.

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