String Of Sextortion Cases Prompt Warnings From Police In Naperville

NAPERVILLE, IL — More than two dozen sextortion cases have been reported in Naperville in the past two years, according to recent information shared by police. The most recent incident involved a teen who was extorted by a 39-year-old Texas man to send explicit photos under false pretenses.

“This is called sextortion, and it’s a growing problem in our society that every family should be aware of,” Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said in the police department's most recent "A Safer Naper" publication. The article goes on to define sextortion as referring to "someone threatening to share or distribute intimate images unless the victim takes a certain action."

In the case of the teen, the 39-year-old man purported to be a 16-year-old girl when he convinced the teen to send explicit photos, police say. After the teen complied, the man said he would share the photos publicly if the teen did not send him funds electronically.

Naperville police stress that sextortion can happen to people of any age. Of the 27 sextortion cases reported in the city in the past two years, the over 50 percent of the victims were adults, police say.

Police suggest taking the following actions to protect yourself against sextortion:

• Share information online selectively, as social media can be a target for sextortion
• Ignore or block messages from strangers
• Use caution when speaking with someone online for the first time
• Use caution if you meet someone on one platform, an app or game, for example, and they try to move the conversation to another online platform
• Ask for help and report suspicious behavior to an adult, site administrator or police authority
• Avoid sending inappropriate photos

Click the link to learn more about how to prevent sextortion.