Crime gangs use bots to lure young men in sextortion scams
Criminal gangs continue to have Australian men and boys in their sights as targets for sexual extortion, with more than $200,000 defrauded from victims in one state.
Australian men, predominantly young, are being targeted by criminal organisations in sextortion scams, according to South Australia Police. These gangs, often based overseas, use tactics such as catfishing to lure their victims into sending intimate pictures, which are then used to extort money or more explicit material. In the past year, South Australia Police received reports from 220 male victims of image-based abuse and sextortion, a significant increase from the previous year.
The financial losses from these crimes reached $217,000 in 2025-26, with one victim losing $53,000, indicating that these offenses are being significantly influenced by a small number of incidents. The eSafety Commissioner and youth mental health advocates emphasize the importance of destigmatisation, open conversations, and awareness in schools and homes to help young people navigate the risk of sextortion and image-based abuse.
Criminal gangs, including the Nigeria-based Yahoo Boys, use fake accounts on platforms like Tinder, Instagram, and Grindr, along with generative AI, face-swapping, and voice-cloning technologies, to create highly convincing lures. The consequences of sextortion can be severe, including suicide and self-harm, and experts recommend that families open conversations similar to those about puberty, romantic relationships, and transitioning to adulthood to help young people navigate these online threats.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
