MS - Walker Montgomery commits suicide after online scammer posing as girl threatens to share his explicit images - 2/202/23

[Bishop Black]

Father warns of Instagram 'sextortion' scam targeting teen boys after son's suicide: 'Evil'

Brian Montgomery lost his 16-year-old son Walker to suicide after he fell victim to a growing 'sextortion' trend targeting teenage boys to get money

www.foxnews.com

A Mississippi father who lost his son to a growing "sextortion" trend targeting teen boys issued a stark warning for parents on their children's social media access as the nationwide debate over cyber safety takes center stage.

Brian Montgomery lost his 16-year-old son Walker to the dangerous trend back in December, after he took his own life when he was extorted with explicit imagery.

His teen son reportedly received a message from an Instagram account, modeling an "attractive" young girl, that lured him into communication after claiming to be a mutual acquaintance.

Eventually, Walker opened a video chat with the perpetrators, who recorded him partaking in sexual activity. Shortly after, they pressed him for $1,000, his father said, using the imagery as leverage.

 

[Marysmith]

Father warns of Instagram 'sextortion' scam targeting teen boys after son's suicide: 'Evil'

Brian Montgomery lost his 16-year-old son Walker to suicide after he fell victim to a growing 'sextortion' trend targeting teenage boys to get money

www.foxnews.com

A Mississippi father who lost his son to a growing "sextortion" trend targeting teen boys issued a stark warning for parents on their children's social media access as the nationwide debate over cyber safety takes center stage.

Brian Montgomery lost his 16-year-old son Walker to the dangerous trend back in December, after he took his own life when he was extorted with explicit imagery.

His teen son reportedly received a message from an Instagram account, modeling an "attractive" young girl, that lured him into communication after claiming to be a mutual acquaintance.

Eventually, Walker opened a video chat with the perpetrators, who recorded him partaking in sexual activity. Shortly after, they pressed him for $1,000, his father said, using the imagery as leverage.

So sad!

 

[DrQ]

IMHO This is another tragic case with a young person. Although social and mainstream media cover these situations regularly, young people are still naïve. When I was 16 I was a risk taker. Now that I am an adult (some say I rarely act like one) I've realized that I am mortal. Curiosity and the desire to explore and experience different situations can unfortunately lead to dangerous and deadly outcomes. The younger generations have lived their lives with and on social media. Many don't accept that once you post something it is pretty out there. I am so sorry for this family. Even worse, those who commit these ugly crimes many times are not caught.

 

[borndem]

What a terrible thing to happen to this 16 y/o, and to his father who will mourn his son until his last days. He is prolly mad one minute and sad the next -- but whatever, his son is gone. SMH. And dad may never find out who did this to his teenage son.

 

[CptCari]

I am so grateful that my stepdaughter reached out when someone similar happened to her...at 14 years old. She had a long history of lying to avoid discomfort/punishment/etc., but when a situation like this happened she knew stepmama bear would handle this for her, without question. I can't imagine any other outcome.

I hope parents remember to tell their children that they are on THEIR side, no matter what. Make dumb choices, win dumb prizes- but know that your parents love you unconditionally and will do their best to protect you from what they can.

 

[Charlot123]

Maybe we should not just say, "watch what your kid is doing", because even if you watch like a hawk, essentially, you can't cover all bases. They will still be doing something, one word, teenagers! Maybe instead, we should talk about this situation with our kids and discuss how to protect themselves (for some reason, an adults man immediately finds out who the photo of a beautiful girl is stolen from, and the kid can not). Also, tell them, if you ever get into such a situation, I'll always help you, don't be ashamed and afraid to come to me for help. And also, add, "be it a girl or a boy", because gay teenagers are targeted even more, and perhaps extortion sums are higher. IMHO. We, the parents, have to maximally open up to our kids so that they are not afraid of asking us for help.

(Equally likely, could be a Nigerian, or a local. KAK was a local, and LG, a very smart girl, fell for his scheme, because she was a teenager.)