In February, a San Jose student received a message from someone he thought was a girl. The conversation turned intimate, and then it turned sinister. Shortly after the conversation began, the 17-year-old died by suicide.
CNN describes Ryan Last as a straight-A student and Boy Scout. A scammer reached out to Last, posing as a girl and sending over a nude photo. The cybercriminal asked Last to send one back, and when he complied, the scammer demanded $5,000.
If Last did not comply, the scammer threatened to send the explicit photo to his friends and family. The teen told the cybercriminal that he could not afford to pay the total $5,000, and they eventually settled on just $150. He paid them out of his college fund, but the scammer continued to demand more money from the teen.
“They kept demanding more and more and putting lots of continued pressure on him,” Last’s mother, Pauline Stuart, told the outlet.
Last left behind a suicide note detailing his embarrassment. Stuart said she said goodnight to her son at 10 p.m. and never had any idea what he was experiencing later that night.
This scam, called “sextortion,” is on the rise. The FBI launched a campaign warning parents amid an uptick in complaints. There were about 18,000 sextortion cases last year, with victims losing about $13 million.
Dr. Scott Hadland, the chief of adolescent medicine at Mass General in Boston, said there are ways to help keep kids safe from online predators.
“The most important thing that a parent should do with their teen is try to understand what they’re doing online,” Hadland said. “You want to know when they’re going online, who they’re interacting with, what platforms they’re using. Are they being approached by people that they don’t know? Are they experiencing pressure to share information or photos?”
Hadland said it is essential to warn teens of scams like sextortion and let them know that they can come forward if they have been approached by someone online or feel like they’ve made a mistake.
Last’s mom hopes that she can spread awareness and save lives by telling his story.
