The UK’s National Crime Agencyc, NCA, has raised concerns about Nigerian sextortion gangs targeting British teenage boys.
These gangs, mostly from West African countries, use fake profiles of young women on Snapchat and Instagram to extort their victims.
In a report by a UK-based online platform, Leading British Conversation, the suspected gangs, mostly from Nigeria and Ivory Coast, persuade boys to send indecent images by promising explicit pictures in return, and then pressure them to pay quickly, threatening to expose the images to friends, family, and classmates.
Describing the abuse as ‘extremely disturbing’, a senior manager at the NCA’s child exploitation and online protection command, Marie Smith, said the NCA is working with enforcement officers in Nigeria to crack down on the gangs.
She said “They use fake profiles of young women, persuading boys to send indecent images by promising explicit pictures in return.
“Once they have the images, they pressure the victim to pay quickly – sometimes giving them just minutes before threatening to expose them.
“We’re working internationally with our Nigerian counterparts, which is where we’re seeing most of this abuse happening. Nothing is off the cards, and we hope to hold these criminals accountable.”
The NCA reports that victims as young as 14 have been targeted, and even adults up to 30 years old have fallen prey to the scheme. Tragically, some victims have taken their own lives due to the fear of exposure.
To combat this, the NCA has launched a campaign to empower young boys to spot the dangers of sextortion and report it. The aim is to take away the advantage of the criminals, who are motivated by financial gain.
The Director of Threat Leadership, NCA, Alex Murray, said “This campaign will help empower young boys, giving them the knowledge to spot the dangers posed by this crime type and how to report it.
“It supports them to understand that if it does happen, it is never their fault. It will also take the advantage away from the criminals responsible, whose only motivation is financial gain.
“Sadly, teenagers in the UK and globally have taken their lives because of sextortion, which has been a major factor behind launching this campaign.”
In 2024, the NCA’s safety centre received 380 reports of sextortion, highlighting the need for awareness and action.
