• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • Heroic Pennsylvania officer saves father and daughter from drowning...
        Denver law enforcement struggle to divert low-level offenders to...
        “The good guys won …”
        “Service was running through his veins”: Condolences pour in for...
        Atlanta police officer and fire rescue captain save trapped driver...
    • Labor
      • San Francisco “workhorse” deputy earns millions in overtime pay...
        “A financial tsunami”
        LAPD officers receive raises, bonuses
        Minnesota police force faces disbandment as chief resigns amid salary...
        We quit!
    • Tech
      • The rise of I2P
        Ann Arbor Police Department adopts AI technology to analyze body...
        Ohio law enforcement adopts powerful ballistics technology to combat...
        AI-powered surveillance program raises concerns over privacy rights...
        Chesterfield County announces real-time crime center to enhance...
    • Training
      • Leaders take note: A handwritten note goes a long way
        CIT training is not for everyone
        Mentoring: Leave ’em better than you found ’em
        Ohio struggles to secure permanent funding for law enforcement...
        Firearm instructors: Just be better!
    • Policy
      • New Mexico Supreme Court clarifies police authority to question...
        New Texas law gives local law enforcement greater control over...
        Diversity in law enforcement
        Florida attorney general and John Walsh partner in new Crime Stoppers...
        Supreme Court to weigh in on whether Idaho police K-9’s paw...
    • Health/Wellness
      • Seeking the right kind of help
        Working through grief
        Responding to trauma
        “Why does that call keep haunting me?”
        A Message to Those Considering Suicide
    • Community
      • Scam callers pose as law enforcement to trick victims into paying for...
        “Live every day like it’s your last”
        National Night Out 2023
        Colorado Springs residents meet with city officials to discuss...
        Seattle police recruits build community relationships in unique...
    • Offbeat
      • Runaway lemur leads Missouri police on wild chase
        Alligator on the loose in New Jersey captured after two-week chase
        Traffic stop by TV’s Dog the Bounty Hunter’s son leads to...
        Bone-chilling: Human skull found in donation box at Arizona Goodwill...
        CATastrophe avoided: Indiana troopers rescue kitten trapped under...
    • We Remember
      • Headstone finally marks grave of Pennsylvania officer who gave his...
        Memorial for the fallen: The sacrifice continues
        Paying Tribute to the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        “He was like a protector …”: Genesee County sheriff’s deputy...
        Deadly police pursuit claims life of 19-year-old Vermont police...
  • On the Job
    • Heroic Pennsylvania officer saves father and daughter from drowning...
      Denver law enforcement struggle to divert low-level offenders to...
      “The good guys won …”
      “Service was running through his veins”: Condolences pour in for...
      Atlanta police officer and fire rescue captain save trapped driver...
  • Labor
    • San Francisco “workhorse” deputy earns millions in overtime pay...
      “A financial tsunami”
      LAPD officers receive raises, bonuses
      Minnesota police force faces disbandment as chief resigns amid salary...
      We quit!
  • Tech
    • The rise of I2P
      Ann Arbor Police Department adopts AI technology to analyze body...
      Ohio law enforcement adopts powerful ballistics technology to combat...
      AI-powered surveillance program raises concerns over privacy rights...
      Chesterfield County announces real-time crime center to enhance...
  • Training
    • Leaders take note: A handwritten note goes a long way
      CIT training is not for everyone
      Mentoring: Leave ’em better than you found ’em
      Ohio struggles to secure permanent funding for law enforcement...
      Firearm instructors: Just be better!
  • Policy
    • New Mexico Supreme Court clarifies police authority to question...
      New Texas law gives local law enforcement greater control over...
      Diversity in law enforcement
      Florida attorney general and John Walsh partner in new Crime Stoppers...
      Supreme Court to weigh in on whether Idaho police K-9’s paw...
  • Health/Wellness
    • Seeking the right kind of help
      Working through grief
      Responding to trauma
      “Why does that call keep haunting me?”
      A Message to Those Considering Suicide
  • Community
    • Scam callers pose as law enforcement to trick victims into paying for...
      “Live every day like it’s your last”
      National Night Out 2023
      Colorado Springs residents meet with city officials to discuss...
      Seattle police recruits build community relationships in unique...
  • Offbeat
    • Runaway lemur leads Missouri police on wild chase
      Alligator on the loose in New Jersey captured after two-week chase
      Traffic stop by TV’s Dog the Bounty Hunter’s son leads to...
      Bone-chilling: Human skull found in donation box at Arizona Goodwill...
      CATastrophe avoided: Indiana troopers rescue kitten trapped under...
  • We Remember
    • Headstone finally marks grave of Pennsylvania officer who gave his...
      Memorial for the fallen: The sacrifice continues
      Paying Tribute to the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      “He was like a protector …”: Genesee County sheriff’s deputy...
      Deadly police pursuit claims life of 19-year-old Vermont police...
  • Between the Lines
    • Debunking the perpetual narrative of racial bias in policing
      The unspoken truth behind the recruitment and retention crisis
      The police reform goal: use of force without options
      The imprisonment of law enforcement technology
      Persecution of the LEO is classic schadenfreude
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

On the Job

AI-generated images drive alarming rise in sextortion cases, FBI reports

APB Team Published June 23, 2023 @ 12:00 pm PDT

iStock.com/ArtemisDiana

The FBI is sounding the alarm on the disturbing new trend of criminals using artificial-intelligence-generated images, or “deepfakes,” to extort individuals for money or sex.

According to FBI statistics, there was a 322% increase in reported sextortion cases in the period between February 2022 and February 2023.

Law enforcement attributed the rise to the use of AI-doctored images, which have made it increasingly difficult to discern manipulated content from reality.

Sextortion, a crime in which an online predator tricks victims into providing them nude images, and then demands money or more images, has seen a sharp increase in cases since the onset of the pandemic.

From 2021 to 2022 alone, the FBI recorded a staggering 463% rise in reported sextortion cases. The recent emergence of open-source AI tools has further facilitated the process for predators, simplifying the creation of realistic and deceptive images.

The FBI warned that malicious actors are utilizing content manipulation technologies and services to exploit innocent pictures and videos sourced from social media accounts, the open internet or even requested from the victims themselves.

The materials are then transformed into sexually-themed images that closely resemble the victims, making them difficult to distinguish from genuine content.

These doctored images are then circulated on social media, public forums or pornographic websites, often without the victims’ knowledge.

Predators, typically located in different countries, employ these AI-generated images to coerce victims, especially juveniles, into providing money or more explicit images. The FBI reports that many victims, including minors, remain unaware that their images have been copied, manipulated and circulated until someone else brings it to their attention.

Tragically, at least a dozen sextortion-related suicides have been reported across the country, with males between the ages of 10 and 17 being the primary targets.

The FBI acknowledged that while girls have also been victimized, the statistics indicate that a higher percentage of boys are falling prey to these crimes.

One tragic case involved 17-year-old Gavin Guffey, who committed suicide after being lured into a sextortion scheme. Guffey received a message from someone impersonating a girl on Instagram, and their communication escalated until demands for money led to deadly consequences.

Alicia Kozak, an internet safety expert and survivor of sexual abuse, underlined the devastating impact of sextortion on today’s teens.

“I speak in schools, and every single school I’ve spoken in has had several sextortion victims and nearly all of the communities have had a child die by suicide as a result of sextortion and the threats, shame and fear that go along with it,” Kozak said.

She warned that AI-generated deepfakes have become increasingly realistic and prevalent, heightening the dangers faced by young individuals who often pursue social media influencer status and fame without thoroughly vetting their followers.

Law enforcement agencies and organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) are actively engaged in combating sextortion.

The FBI’s special agent in charge for Oregon, Kieran Ramsey, acknowledged that criminals are swiftly integrating AI into their activities, leveraging it in sextortion cases, hoax threats and virtual kidnap-for-ransom schemes.

Ramsey explained how criminals can manipulate innocent photos of children to appear as explicit images and then demand money from families to prevent their release on the internet.

“Now someone is taking their benign content and making it explicit and convincing them that oh yes this will be used against you is really, really concerning,” Ramsey said.

Similarly, virtual kidnap-for-ransom cases utilize AI-generated phone calls with fake voices of family members to extort payments.

Recent events in Eugene, Oregon, also exemplified the consequences of AI manipulation, when two students paid someone online to generate AI-generated threats against their high school.

The threats, delivered via phone calls, prompted multiple lockdowns and exhaustive police sweeps, causing anxiety and disruption among the student body.

Ramsey said the need for law enforcement agencies to stay ahead of criminals in adopting new technology.

“Unfortunately, we have to wait for that regulatory policy, that law to come out that gives us a new tool in the toolbox to combat whatever that thing is,” Ramsey said. “But at the same time, we got to make sure whatever tools we have now, we are fully using, to prevent any further harm and stop any schemes were seeing right now.”

He urged the public to report any incidents of sextortion or other cybercrimes to the FBI through its website, ic3.gov.

Categories: On the Job Tags: Law Enforcement, FBI, Oregon, blackmail, technology, scam, AI-generated images, deepfakes, sextortion, predators

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Runaway lemur leads Missouri police on wild chase
  • Scam callers pose as law enforcement to trick victims into paying for missing jury duty
  • Seeking the right kind of help
  • San Francisco “workhorse” deputy earns millions in overtime pay amid staffing shortages
  • New Mexico Supreme Court clarifies police authority to question passengers during traffic stops
  • Leaders take note: A handwritten note goes a long way
  • New Texas law gives local law enforcement greater control over dispatching AMBER Alerts
  • Headstone finally marks grave of Pennsylvania officer who gave his life during historic 1889 flood
  • Working through grief
  • Heroic Pennsylvania officer saves father and daughter from drowning in sinking truck

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Options | Notice at Collection | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.