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Sussex Police: Alert over sextortion criminals targeting children

PA/Dominic Lipinski Child using laptopPA/Dominic Lipinski
Police are concerned young people are being targeted by criminals on popular social media sites

An alert has been issued by Sussex Police after reports of online sextortion, a form of blackmail.

The force said suspects are using popular social media sites such as Instagram and Snapchat to target children and young people.

Victims are often tricked into sending intimate images or videos of themselves on online chats to people they believe are genuine.

Criminals then threaten to share the content as part of the blackmail.

Victims are being urged by officers "not to pay, to save evidence such as screenshots, messages, images, and relevant URL links, and to block all communication" with the suspect.

Police said many of the suspects operate from outside the UK, using fake identities.

The advice also said people should know support is available, and most social media sites have policies against sharing intimate or indecent content which makes getting it removed easier.

Any blackmail attempts should be reported to police online, or by calling 101.

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