Global Courant 2023-05-23 20:24:25
This story is about suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
South Carolina Republican State Representative Brandon Guffey exposes the dangers of “sextortion” after losing his teenage son to suicide last year.
Gavin Guffey, 17, received a message one evening in July 2022 from someone posing as a girl on Instagram, and the pair began chatting on the social media app of Meta, Facebook’s parent company.
That person convinced Gavin to enable “disappear mode” in their Instagram chat, which causes messages to disappear after they are received.
“And then they shared pictures,” Guffey told Fox News Digital.
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Gavin Guffey, 17, committed suicide in 2022 after falling victim to an Instagram sextortion plot. (Brandon Guffey)
After exchanging photos, that person demanded money from Gavin. He replied that he only had $25 in his account, which Guffey said was untrue, and sent $25. The scammer demanded more.
“And he even said I’m in my room with a gun. If these pictures get out, I’m going to end it now,” the state legislature explained. “I don’t know if any photos were shared.”
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Gavin, who had just graduated from high school that spring and had a passion for art and music, shot himself that night.
Brandon Guffey, right, has exposed the dangers of sextortion after his son, Gavin, second from right, committed suicide last year. (Brandon Guffey)
After his death, the scammer he met on Instagram tracked down the teenage cousin of Brandon Guffey and Gavin on Instagram and began demanding money from them. No arrests have been made in the investigation.
The FBI defines sextortion as a “serious crime” in which perpetrators threaten to disclose a victim’s sensitive or private information in exchange for sexually explicit material or money.
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South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on April 18 signed into law legislation that Guffey introduced last year, called “Gavin’s Law,” which aims to combat sextortion in South Carolina by making it a misdemeanor, and a felony when the victim is a minor.
Gavin Guffey’s loved ones gather at his funeral. “A Guffey tradition is to bury your own,” said Brandon Guffey. (Brandon Guffey)
“With the signing of Gavin’s law, despicable criminals, such as those responsible for the tragic loss of the Guffey family, will now know that they will go to prison for very long periods of time for preying on the innocent young people of our state,” McMaster said in a statement to Fox News digital.
Guffey said his goal with Gavin’s law was to “send a message.”
“If you’re going to target kids, you better not be in the state of South Carolina.”
Guffey praised the cooperation between Democrats and Republicans in passing the bill, which aims to combat a crime that affects more families than people realize, he said.
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“I’ve had at least 30 families in my small area contact me to treat sextortion,” he said. “At least one to two a day across the country.”
The number of reports of sextortion tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children more than doubled between 2019 and 2021. In 2022, 79% of offenders were seeking money from victims.
Reports of sextortion tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children more than doubled between 2019 and 2021. In 2022, 79% of offenders sought money from victims. (Brandon Guffey)
If Gavin had come to his father before his suicide, Guffey said he probably wouldn’t have disclosed his knowledge of the dangers of sextortion out of respect for his son’s privacy. However, since his death, Guffey has really wanted to change the way these crimes are handled in South Carolina’s criminal justice system.
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“I will feel personally responsible for every child I know who continues to be targeted in this way, and I haven’t done everything I could to raise awareness — to let parents know that they need to have that conversation with their children. and let their children know that you will not disgrace them.”
Sharing photos online and over the phone is part of kids’ “culture” these days, Guffey said.
“They grew up with this.”
His advice to other parents or children battling sextortion is: go offline first. Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and other apps indicate when a user is online and active. Sextortion perpetrators will take advantage of that and send more demanding messages when the victim is online, he explained.
Second, “call the police and engage them,” the state representative said.
South Carolina State Representative Brandon Guffey is encouraging those who may be victims of sextortion to contact law enforcement. (Brandon Guffey)
“Some people say you should delete your social media and take screenshots of the images. I don’t believe that, because the police can take over the conversation and hopefully track these people down,” Guffey said. .
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The FBI has its own tips for avoiding falling victim to a sextortion scheme: “Never send compromising images of yourself to anyone, no matter who they are — or who they say they are. Don’t open attachments from people you don’t know. Turn off your electronic devices and web cameras when you’re not using them. If you’re receiving sextortion threats, you’re not alone.”
The agency encourages anyone who believes they are a victim of sextortion, or knows someone who may be a victim, to contact their local FBI office or toll-free at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to [email protected] or on Twitter at @audpants.
