The police are now urging parents to keep an eye on what their children are doing on the internet. This follows reports of young men and boys being pressured for money after sending nude photos, the police announce.
– It can have terrible consequences, says Mikael Ahrtzing, group leader for Internet-related sexual abuse of children at police region North.
Recently, police region Nord has received reports where young men and boys are being pressured for money after being manipulated into sending nude photos, writes the police on their website.
The police now want to urge parents and adults to pay attention to children and what they do on the internet.
– In general, I would say that this is more common than what we in the adult world know about, says Mikael Ahrtzing, group leader for Internet-related sexual abuse of children at police region North.
Approach
Perpetrators will pretend to be a girl of a similar age who approaches the boys on major social media platforms. They will send nude photos and ask the boys to do the same – and when they have sent the photos, they will be pressured for money so that the photos will not be leaked.
Mikael Ahrtzing believes that it can occur in several places in Sweden, but that it is difficult to say how long it has been going on.
– We think that there is probably a lot of darkness in this, he says.
“Terrible consequences”
In these cases, it is about extortion situations where boys and young men are forced to send pictures and are pressured for money in order not to risk their spreading. But there are other risks.
– They can be blackmailed for money, but they can also be exposed to a groomer who wants pictures of children.
The police are keen that parents talk to their children about what’s going on – not only when they leave football training by themselves, but also when they are alone in the room, says Mikael Ahrtzing.
– It can have terrible consequences, he says.