One in 10 UK parents say their child has been blackmailed online, NSPCC finds

"Nearly one in 10 parents say their child has been blackmailed online, while one in five (21 per cent) know a child that has experienced it, with threats ranging from the release of intimate images to details about their personal life. Despite this, the child protection charity NSPCC also found that two in five UK parents say they rarely or never talk to their children about the subject. Reasons given for not talking about online blackmail included 32 per cent fearing their child would overreact, and 25 per cent citing their child's reluctance to talk about sensitive topics."

"In March, the National Crime Agency said that British teenage boys were increasingly being blackmailed by Nigerian crime gangs posing as young women in a surge of online sexual extortion. Officials warned that criminals are targeting boys as young as 14 over Snapchat and Instagram tricking them into sending explicit images before demanding payments of around 100. While most victims of child sexual exploitation are female, 90 per cent of sextortion victims are boys aged 14 to 17."

"The NSPCC survey, which received responses from more than 2,500 parents, found that one in three parents felt that tech companies and the government were failing in their duty to protect children from online blackmail. Parents felt that charities and schools were doing much more to help prevent harm. Talking about the work tech companies do to protect children, one parent said: They have no interest whatsoever. As long as they get their money from marketing, that's good enough for them"

Nearly one in 10 parents report their child has been blackmailed online and one in five know a child who experienced it, with threats including release of intimate images and personal details. Two in five UK parents rarely or never discuss online blackmail; 32 per cent fear their child would overreact and 25 per cent cite the child's reluctance to discuss sensitive topics. The National Crime Agency warned that Nigerian gangs are posing as young women on Snapchat and Instagram to extort boys as young as 14, demanding payments around 100. Ninety per cent of sextortion victims are boys aged 14–17. Two teenage boys died by suicide after being targeted. One in three parents felt tech companies and government were failing to protect children, while parents saw charities and schools as doing more to prevent harm.

Read at www.independent.co.uk