By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

A county youth, as reported by sheriff deputies on May 1, found himself in a blackmail situation after poor judgement. Sextortion threats were made to him after explicit photos were sent to Tiktok and Snapchat platforms.

County deputies forwarded this case to the FBI for a further investigation.

Law enforcement personnel at the local, state and national levels point out that many criminals want to steal explicit personal imagery or other private information, especially from young people. Photos and videos are then used to threaten or blackmail youths with extortionists demanding money, gift cards or more personal information.

In exchange, the fraudsters say they will not release the material to the young person’s family and friends. But once the extortionists receive money from victims, they oftentimes demand even more money from the victims.

Here are some tips to parents:

• Encourage teens to use good judgment when it comes to use of social media.

• Have regular open and honest conversations with youths.

• Ensure that teens are not sharing their devises or passwords with others, even their best friends. Doing so could put young people at risk to fraud and sextortion through hacking.