More than 1,800 bank accounts linked to teenage ‘sextortion’

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have discovered 1,800 bank accounts linked to the sextortion of Australian teenagers.

Sextortion is a form of online blackmail and sexual abuse.

AFP researchers said “too many victims are being blackmailed” but noted that there was a significant drop in reports of sextortion in the first half of 2024 compared to last year.

Sextortion

Sextortion is when a perpetrator deceives or coerces someone into posting sexual images online, then threatens to share the images if demands are not met.

Demands can include money or more graphic content. It is a form of blackmail and sexual abuse.

According to a recent RMIT study, one in seven people have been a victim of sextortion. Researchers also found that sextortion is common in intimate partner violence as a means of ‘coercing’ victims.

Research

The Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) is an organisation led by AFP.

According to the ACCCE, it received an average of 93 reports of sextortion per month in the first half of 2024.

This number is lower than the average of 300 reports per month in 2023.

Helen Schneider, commander of the AFP, attributed the drop in reports of sextortion to a successful national “crush” and “greater public awareness, especially among parents and young people themselves”.

Detectives from the national Financial Crimes Unit (AUSTRAC) have also been working with Australian banks to identify criminals involved in sextortion.

Since 2022, authorities have reported more than 1,800
bank accounts and digital currency accounts, “linked to offshore
organised criminals who sexually extort Australian teenagers.”

Despite a recent drop in reports of sextortion, the ACCCE remains concerned that it “remains an underreported crime” that disproportionately affects young people.

Young victims

“The sad reality is that we still receive almost 100 reports a month of children in Australia being targeted by criminals,” Commander Schneider said.

Anthony Helmond, Acting National Manager of AUSTRAC, called the crimes being committed against Australian teenagers “disturbing”.

“Access to the Internet and the ease of online financial transactions have put vulnerable groups worldwide within reach of criminals,” Helmond said.

Government

The federal government praised the ACCCE as a “world leader” in the fight against child exploitation.

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus told TDA that technology companies “must be proactive and take steps to minimize the risks their products pose to children and young people.”

“The tech industry has a vital role to play in the fight against online child sexual exploitation and abuse and we are committed to working with them on this,” Dreyfus said.