US warns of 'explosion' of online child sextortion

Many of the schemes begin in chat rooms and online gaming sites, and the people behind them approach the victims using fake female identities. — Technology photo created by freepik - www.freepik.com

WASHINGTON: US justice officials warned Monday that there was an "explosion" of incidents in which children were extorted for money after being persuaded to provide explicit images of themselves.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said US law enforcement received more than 7,000 reports in the past year on financial sextortion of young children and teens that led to 3,000 victims.