Talk to your kids - nothing is ever as bad as it seems

[Noodle]

I can't recall when a story about people I do not know has made me this sad and this irate. Sextortion of American teens by criminal gangs are causing suicides. Teen suicides often follow months or years of depression and often heroic efforts of parents and mental health professionals. These sextortion cases often do not, leaving grieving families bewildered and wondering what signs they missed. Tragically, they often missed none. Talk to you kids, especially teens. Tell them that your love and support is unconditional.

The day before 15-year-old Braden Markus received unsolicited sexual messages on Instagram, he was “literally on cloud nine” from his coach’s praise at their Friday and Saturday football games, recalls his mom, Jennifer Argiro-Markus. The Columbus, Ohio teen spent Saturday night playing XBox with his cousins and eating his favorite Japanese takeout.​

​

At 11:01 on Sunday morning, a predator posing as a teenage girl contacted Braden and convinced him to send nude images. He died by suicide less than 30 minutes later.​

​

In the final five minutes of Braden’s life, he told the predator over and over again, “I am only 15. Why are you doing this to me? I am only 15, you will ruin my life.”​

​

In these moments, teens are often actually communicating with a group of three to four foreign cybercriminals who simultaneously contact the victim, handle a money transfer, and conduct research to find their family members, contacts and school.​

These Ohio teen boys were blackmailed online. It cost them their lives

Parents told USA TODAY their teenage sons died by suicide within 24 hours of being financially sextorted. Here's what they want others to know.

www.cincinnati.com

 

[Aloha Hoosier]

Those criminals deserve death.

 

[mcmurtry66]

I can't recall when a story about people I do not know has made me this sad and this irate. Sextortion of American teens by criminal gangs are causing suicides. Teen suicides often follow months or years of depression and often heroic efforts of parents and mental health professionals. These sextortion cases often do not, leaving grieving families bewildered and wondering what signs they missed. Tragically, they often missed none. Talk to you kids, especially teens. Tell them that your love and support is unconditional.

The day before 15-year-old Braden Markus received unsolicited sexual messages on Instagram, he was “literally on cloud nine” from his coach’s praise at their Friday and Saturday football games, recalls his mom, Jennifer Argiro-Markus. The Columbus, Ohio teen spent Saturday night playing XBox with his cousins and eating his favorite Japanese takeout.​

​

At 11:01 on Sunday morning, a predator posing as a teenage girl contacted Braden and convinced him to send nude images. He died by suicide less than 30 minutes later.​

​

In the final five minutes of Braden’s life, he told the predator over and over again, “I am only 15. Why are you doing this to me? I am only 15, you will ruin my life.”​

​

In these moments, teens are often actually communicating with a group of three to four foreign cybercriminals who simultaneously contact the victim, handle a money transfer, and conduct research to find their family members, contacts and school.​

These Ohio teen boys were blackmailed online. It cost them their lives

Parents told USA TODAY their teenage sons died by suicide within 24 hours of being financially sextorted. Here's what they want others to know.

www.cincinnati.com

There’s evil in the world

 

[BradStevens]

@larsIU

Maybe our Nigerian business venture should be hunting down people like this?

"The teenage girl who messaged him was really a group of cybercriminals that included Samuel Ogoshi and Samson Ogoshi, Nigerian brothers who in September of 2024 were sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison and extradited to the U.S. The group of predators targeted Jordan and more than 100 others, including at least 11 minors."

More:Nigerian brothers get 17 years for sextortion that led to Michigan teen's death

 

[BradStevens]

I can't recall when a story about people I do not know has made me this sad and this irate. Sextortion of American teens by criminal gangs are causing suicides. Teen suicides often follow months or years of depression and often heroic efforts of parents and mental health professionals. These sextortion cases often do not, leaving grieving families bewildered and wondering what signs they missed. Tragically, they often missed none. Talk to you kids, especially teens. Tell them that your love and support is unconditional.

The day before 15-year-old Braden Markus received unsolicited sexual messages on Instagram, he was “literally on cloud nine” from his coach’s praise at their Friday and Saturday football games, recalls his mom, Jennifer Argiro-Markus. The Columbus, Ohio teen spent Saturday night playing XBox with his cousins and eating his favorite Japanese takeout.​

​

At 11:01 on Sunday morning, a predator posing as a teenage girl contacted Braden and convinced him to send nude images. He died by suicide less than 30 minutes later.​

​

In the final five minutes of Braden’s life, he told the predator over and over again, “I am only 15. Why are you doing this to me? I am only 15, you will ruin my life.”​

​

In these moments, teens are often actually communicating with a group of three to four foreign cybercriminals who simultaneously contact the victim, handle a money transfer, and conduct research to find their family members, contacts and school.​

These Ohio teen boys were blackmailed online. It cost them their lives

Parents told USA TODAY their teenage sons died by suicide within 24 hours of being financially sextorted. Here's what they want others to know.

www.cincinnati.com

It's like something out of a horror movie:

In more than a dozen interviews, male sextortion victims and the parents of teenage boys who died by suicide described how predators established a false sense of trust before blackmailing their victims. All of the parents USA TODAY spoke with said their teens died by suicide within 24 hours of being threatened − though the window was often shorter.

James’ predators falsely told him he would face jail time for sending nude photographs, that his parents would stop loving him and that he would never be able to run track again or go to college. In the next 19 hours, they would send James more than 200 messages, a technique predators use to instill a sense of urgency and prevent giving the victim time to think or reach out for help.

“They eliminated his desire for a future,” his mother, Tamia Woods, says. “I don't think that James knew he was a victim.”

 

[mcmurtry66]

It's like something out of a horror movie:

In more than a dozen interviews, male sextortion victims and the parents of teenage boys who died by suicide described how predators established a false sense of trust before blackmailing their victims. All of the parents USA TODAY spoke with said their teens died by suicide within 24 hours of being threatened − though the window was often shorter.

James’ predators falsely told him he would face jail time for sending nude photographs, that his parents would stop loving him and that he would never be able to run track again or go to college. In the next 19 hours, they would send James more than 200 messages, a technique predators use to instill a sense of urgency and prevent giving the victim time to think or reach out for help.

“They eliminated his desire for a future,” his mother, Tamia Woods, says. “I don't think that James knew he was a victim.”

Noodle’s post topic is spot on. Talk to your kids. They have no sense of how long life is and are naive about so much

 

[GooglyMooglyWooglyBoogly]

@larsIU

Maybe our Nigerian business venture should be hunting down people like this?

"The teenage girl who messaged him was really a group of cybercriminals that included Samuel Ogoshi and Samson Ogoshi, Nigerian brothers who in September of 2024 were sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison and extradited to the U.S. The group of predators targeted Jordan and more than 100 others, including at least 11 minors."

More:Nigerian brothers get 17 years for sextortion that led to Michigan teen's death

Are these the same guys Jussie hired to attack him?

 

[Baller23Boogie]

I can't recall when a story about people I do not know has made me this sad and this irate. Sextortion of American teens by criminal gangs are causing suicides. Teen suicides often follow months or years of depression and often heroic efforts of parents and mental health professionals. These sextortion cases often do not, leaving grieving families bewildered and wondering what signs they missed. Tragically, they often missed none. Talk to you kids, especially teens. Tell them that your love and support is unconditional.

The day before 15-year-old Braden Markus received unsolicited sexual messages on Instagram, he was “literally on cloud nine” from his coach’s praise at their Friday and Saturday football games, recalls his mom, Jennifer Argiro-Markus. The Columbus, Ohio teen spent Saturday night playing XBox with his cousins and eating his favorite Japanese takeout.​

​

At 11:01 on Sunday morning, a predator posing as a teenage girl contacted Braden and convinced him to send nude images. He died by suicide less than 30 minutes later.​

​

In the final five minutes of Braden’s life, he told the predator over and over again, “I am only 15. Why are you doing this to me? I am only 15, you will ruin my life.”​

​

In these moments, teens are often actually communicating with a group of three to four foreign cybercriminals who simultaneously contact the victim, handle a money transfer, and conduct research to find their family members, contacts and school.​

These Ohio teen boys were blackmailed online. It cost them their lives

Parents told USA TODAY their teenage sons died by suicide within 24 hours of being financially sextorted. Here's what they want others to know.

www.cincinnati.com

I can't even imagine...

 

[larsIU]

@larsIU

Maybe our Nigerian business venture should be hunting down people like this?

"The teenage girl who messaged him was really a group of cybercriminals that included Samuel Ogoshi and Samson Ogoshi, Nigerian brothers who in September of 2024 were sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison and extradited to the U.S. The group of predators targeted Jordan and more than 100 others, including at least 11 minors."

More:Nigerian brothers get 17 years for sextortion that led to Michigan teen's death

Everybody in Africa hates Nigerians. Seriously. The hate list of Africa:

Nigerians
Kenyans
Ugandans
South Africans
the Dutch

If I were Trump I'd threaten to cut off any aid to those countries until they turned these ****s over.

 

[T.M.P.]

I can't recall when a story about people I do not know has made me this sad and this irate. Sextortion of American teens by criminal gangs are causing suicides. Teen suicides often follow months or years of depression and often heroic efforts of parents and mental health professionals. These sextortion cases often do not, leaving grieving families bewildered and wondering what signs they missed. Tragically, they often missed none. Talk to you kids, especially teens. Tell them that your love and support is unconditional.

The day before 15-year-old Braden Markus received unsolicited sexual messages on Instagram, he was “literally on cloud nine” from his coach’s praise at their Friday and Saturday football games, recalls his mom, Jennifer Argiro-Markus. The Columbus, Ohio teen spent Saturday night playing XBox with his cousins and eating his favorite Japanese takeout.​

​

At 11:01 on Sunday morning, a predator posing as a teenage girl contacted Braden and convinced him to send nude images. He died by suicide less than 30 minutes later.​

​

In the final five minutes of Braden’s life, he told the predator over and over again, “I am only 15. Why are you doing this to me? I am only 15, you will ruin my life.”​

​

In these moments, teens are often actually communicating with a group of three to four foreign cybercriminals who simultaneously contact the victim, handle a money transfer, and conduct research to find their family members, contacts and school.​

These Ohio teen boys were blackmailed online. It cost them their lives

Parents told USA TODAY their teenage sons died by suicide within 24 hours of being financially sextorted. Here's what they want others to know.

www.cincinnati.com

Not just talk to them, but be brutally honest with them especially with the uncomfortable conversations and issues.

Lying about or avoiding the uncomfortable in an attempt to shield them from the adult world is counter productive. Your job as a parent is to prepare them for the world. If you don't teach them about the dark places, either someone else will, or they will get into situations they are not prepared for.

The kids above did not trust in their parents enough to talk to them about it. Don't be that parent.

 

[larsIU]

The kids above did not trust in their parents enough to talk to them about it.

To be fair, not many of us at 15-17 would have talked to our parents about this either. AGree though that before you hand your kid a phone (regardless of age) this talk needs to occur.

 

[Baller23Boogie]

To be fair, not many of us at 15-17 would have talked to our parents about this either. AGree though that before you hand your kid a phone (regardless of age) this talk needs to occur.

We all like to think our kids would come to us if something was happening to them but that just isn't reality.

We all react to situations differently. Kids are no different.

 

[T.M.P.]

To be fair, not many of us at 15-17 would have talked to our parents about this either.

Agree, but that wasn't our job or responsibility. It is the job of the parent(s) to teach and the job of the child to learn. Too many try to shield their kids from the dark stuff instead of preparing them for it. If you're uncomfortable about it, they will be too. If you lie about it, they will too.

I watch parents lie to their kids about almost everything in an attempt to shield them.

Example: A friend of mine would hide his smoking from hsi kids, and naively thought they didn't know.

So, when his kids turned into adults I asked bluntly just to prove something... When did you first realize your dad was a pot head? Around 8/9 years old. When was the first time you got into his stash and start smoking? About 11/12. He was clueless ..

He didn't shield them from anything, all he did was establish a dynamic of lies.

 

[dr.jb]

I can't recall when a story about people I do not know has made me this sad and this irate. Sextortion of American teens by criminal gangs are causing suicides. Teen suicides often follow months or years of depression and often heroic efforts of parents and mental health professionals. These sextortion cases often do not, leaving grieving families bewildered and wondering what signs they missed. Tragically, they often missed none. Talk to you kids, especially teens. Tell them that your love and support is unconditional.

The day before 15-year-old Braden Markus received unsolicited sexual messages on Instagram, he was “literally on cloud nine” from his coach’s praise at their Friday and Saturday football games, recalls his mom, Jennifer Argiro-Markus. The Columbus, Ohio teen spent Saturday night playing XBox with his cousins and eating his favorite Japanese takeout.​

​

At 11:01 on Sunday morning, a predator posing as a teenage girl contacted Braden and convinced him to send nude images. He died by suicide less than 30 minutes later.​

​

In the final five minutes of Braden’s life, he told the predator over and over again, “I am only 15. Why are you doing this to me? I am only 15, you will ruin my life.”​

​

In these moments, teens are often actually communicating with a group of three to four foreign cybercriminals who simultaneously contact the victim, handle a money transfer, and conduct research to find their family members, contacts and school.​

These Ohio teen boys were blackmailed online. It cost them their lives

Parents told USA TODAY their teenage sons died by suicide within 24 hours of being financially sextorted. Here's what they want others to know.

www.cincinnati.com

just another of many reasons to get away from/off the damn phone/computer

 

[BadWakeboarder]

Not just talk to them, but be brutally honest with them especially with the uncomfortable conversations and issues.

Lying about or avoiding the uncomfortable in an attempt to shield them from the adult world is counter productive. Your job as a parent is to prepare them for the world. If you don't teach them about the dark places, either someone else will, or they will get into situations they are not prepared for.

The kids above did not trust in their parents enough to talk to them about it. Don't be that parent.

Well put. I shared this with my middle schooler today. He’s of course mortified that this happens to people but understands the lesson.

Thanks for sharing @Noodle amd @T.M.P.

 

[mcmurtry66]

just another of many reasons to get away from/off the damn phone/computer

Yup. But that ship has sailed

 

[Eppy99]

This is how I think the situation should be handled if god forbid you or a loved one was ever in a similar position. If the person trying to blackmail is someone foreign or you don’t know, absolutely just ignore.

This amounts to nothing but sales for these punks. It’s the same as dealing with a terrorist, you don’t. If you give in to them they will keep asking for more. Ignore them and they will move on to the next person if they aren’t already speaking to multiple victims.

I’m sure this would be terrifying but if you counsel your kids to always tell you when there’s a problem, then we can help them find the solution.