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Online Predators Targeting Young Boys with Sextortion Scams Revealed
Caution: This article discusses suicide.
“John,” a self-proclaimed scammer, revealed that his full-time job involves enticing foreigners to send him money through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Operating from Lagos, Nigeria, he is part of a group known as “Yahoo Boys,” who manipulate teenagers into sharing explicit photos and then blackmail them for financial gain.
The prevalence of this type of sexual extortion, known as sextortion, has surged in Canada since 2021, with more than 40 reported suicides in North America, Australia, and the U.K. linked to sextortion, including five cases in Canada.
Paul Raffile, a sextortion and cybercrime researcher, condemned these actions as the worst form of scam, involving children being coerced into compromising situations, exploited, and extorted.
To assess the effectiveness of social media safeguards against sextortion, Marketplace journalists created fake teen profiles on Instagram, simulating real accounts to observe potential sextortion activities.
Find out more from the Marketplace team.
- Tune in to ‘The Sextortion Network’ for the full investigation, airing on Friday at 8 p.m. (8:30 in N.L.) on YouTube, CBC TV, and CBC Gem.
Controversy Over Use of Offensive Term “Wife Beater” in Amazon Ads
Despite a ruling by the Ad Standards Council declaring the term “wife beater” offensive, trivializing domestic violence, and breaching Canada’s advertising code, numerous ads for men’s tank tops featuring this description persist on Amazon’s Canadian website.
The term originated in the 1930s to denote a particular style of tight-fitting men’s undershirts, gaining notoriety in 1951 when Marlon Brando wore one in the film A Streetcar Named Desire as the aggressive character Stanley Kowalski.
Women’s rights advocates have criticized Amazon for allowing this term, emphasizing the need for a culture that respects women and survivors of intimate partner violence.
In response to the uproar, Harmy Mendoza from WomanACT launched a petition urging Amazon to remove the term from its product descriptions.
Amazon defended its position, stating its commitment to maintaining an inclusive marketplace while considering cultural sensitivities in
