Cybertip.ca Alert: Hacking Snapchat® accounts or using the threat of hacking to sextort teens

Some of the tactics employed by the offenders included distributing images and hacking the Snapchat accounts of teenagers. In certain instances, the perpetrators threatened to hack the victims’ Snapchat accounts and share their intimate images. This alarming trend has led to a total of 27 reports received by both Cybertip.Ca and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) since August 2021. These reports are related to the extortion trend mentioned above.

  • The only pictures my teenager has taken of themselves, in which they are naked, are stored in a folder called “Only Eyes”. They have also mentioned seeing naked pictures of other teenagers on a website or a similar platform, and have reached out to the specific teenager through a direct message on Snapchat.
  • In order to gain control of their account, utilizing the details provided by the teenager, a link is given to an external website or a page to “retrieve” their email and password.
  • Including the teenager’s acquaintances on Snapchat or transmitting an image of the teenager’s supporters as a strategy of manipulation.
  • Cyberstalking the teenager on the internet and continuously reaching out to them until they adhere to the requests.
  • In certain cases, the adolescent had prior engagements with the perpetrator on Snapchat or other platforms before being subjected to threats.
  • The images of the teenager’s intimate story, either shared directly with the offender’s contacts or sent to the offender’s contacts, were reported to Cybertip.Ca in a number of cases where the teen’s Snapchat story was hacked or threatened to be shared.

    In order to prevent the offender from sharing the intimate videos/images, few reports have already obtained additional content by asking the perpetrator. However, in almost every report, the offender demanded money to keep the teenager’s hacked account from sharing the imagery.

    What steps should caregivers take if their teenager is being blackmailed for explicit content?

  • 1-866-658-9022 number free-toll the via or form report online the through Cybertip.Ca to or police to happened has what report. It report.
  • Do not comply with the threat of paying money and ensuring that additional images or videos of you as a teenager are never sent, as this will not improve the situation.
  • Ensure to cease all communication with the individual making the threat and ensure to maintain any correspondence between you and the teenager.
  • Get in touch with Cybertip.Ca. Cybertip.Ca is able to: Offer practical measures to assist in regaining control over the situation.
  • If you wish, analysts from Cybertip.Ca can also assist you in determining the necessary steps to remove it on your own. Assistance is available for removing child sexual exploitation content or private pictures of a teenager from the platform.
  • If necessary, they are able to assist with a wide range of needs, ranging from providing emotional assistance to facilitating access to therapy or services for victims. Link yourself and your adolescent to the support service team of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, who specialize in working closely with teenagers, educational institutions, and families in cases involving sextortion.
  • How can I assist my teenager in safeguarding themselves on social networking sites, such as Snapchat?

  • Users outside of the United States must be at least 13 years old to have an account with Snapchat. A quick reminder for caregivers and parents: this is in accordance with Snapchat’s Terms of Service.
  • To prevent unidentified individuals from adding them, it is advisable to instruct your adolescent to engage in conversations only with individuals they personally know on Snapchat.
  • Do teenagers know if the link they receive is specifically meant for them, and should they refrain from accessing or clicking on websites/links that are sent to them directly?
  • In Snapchat, you can review the settings under the section “Who Can See” to limit and modify who can contact your teen. These privacy settings work with teens to control who can see their location and view their stories in the “Quick Add” section.
  • Motivate your teenager to generate a robust password for their social media profiles.
  • Learn more about how to ensure that your teen’s bio, media, and social profiles don’t give away too much personal information. Encourage teens to remove details such as their birthday, disable Birthday Party sign, and use a pseudonym. Profiles on Snapchat can include the full names of users, so remind your teen to limit the amount of personal information they share about themselves in their profile.
  • Let them consider carefully and think about what is stored in their Snapchat account, as the material that they know as their own may not be as secure as they think.
  • We do not encourage teenagers to share their unique QR code (Snapcode), which allows people to quickly add them on other social media platforms like Snapchat.
  • Check out protectkidsonline.Ca for suggestions on initiating discussions with children and adolescents of various age groups – engage in frequent dialogues about internet security, discuss the applications they utilize, the games they engage in, and the individuals they interact with.
  • Reassure teenagers that they can seek your assistance without any fear of repercussions or the risk of misplacing their device, in case an incident has occurred.