Instagram and Facebook remove 63,000 sextortion accounts after shocking deaths

WARNING: Distressing content

Instagram and Facebook’s parent company Meta says it has finally taken down about 63,000 Nigerian Instagram accounts running sextortion scams, along with thousands of Facebook groups and pages that were trying to organise, recruit and train new scammers.

Sextortion is a cruel form of online blackmail whereby a scammer tricks or coerces their victims into sending sexual images of themselves, before threatening to share the image unless the victim pays.

The crime is rife and has tragically resulted in dozens of teenage suicides, including in Australia.

According to research by cyber intelligence analyst Paul Raffile, a group of West African cybercriminals known as “Yahoo Boys” are largely responsible for the 18,000 per cent surge in sextortion targeting children that has caused at least 39 deaths in the past two years.

Now finally, under mounting pressure from victims’ families and media, Meta has banned the Yahoo Boys under its Dangerous Organisations and Individuals policy and claims “it will remove Yahoo Boys accounts engaged in this criminal activity whenever it become aware of them”.

In April this year, a 7NEWS Spotlight documentary exposed the actions of the Yahoo Boys and revealed the devastating consequences of sextortion for Australian families as part of a global, six-month investigation.

Victorian parents Beck and Anthony Cosgriff bravely spoke publicly for the first about the death of their 17-year-old son, Rohan.

Rohan took his own life on July 26, 2022 at home in Ballarat, after being pressured into sending an intimate picture of himself to someone posing as “Christine” on Snapchat and Instagram. The sextortionist then threatened to distribute the image unless Rohan paid money.

“He was eventually told, ‘Right, you’ve got half an hour until we ruin your life’ ... and that was just before he took his life,” Anthony told 7NEWS Spotlight.

A note found in Rohan’s pocket said: “I made a huge mistake. I’m sorry. I love you all. This is life-ending.”

Ballarat Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation police established the Snapchat and Instagram accounts which the offender used originated in Nigeria but could not identify the criminal who targeted Rohan.

The case was sent to the Australian Federal Police to investigate but on October 11, 2023 the case was closed and marked as “unsolved”.

In February 2024, 7NEWS Spotlight reporter Sarah Greenhalgh and her team travelled to Nigeria where they provided information about Rohan’s case to Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre head Commissioner Uche Ifeanyi Henry, who opened an official investigation there.

Earlier this month, 7NEWS Spotlight received an update from Victoria Police saying: “The investigation remains active and ongoing. There is collaboration between Victoria Police detectives, Australian Federal Police and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission in Nigeria.”

Last Friday, Victoria’s coroner Audrey Jamieson published findings into Rohan’s death.

“I do not consider that more education is the solution to preventing deaths in like situations.,” she said.

“What needs to be done is to bolster the legal response to sextortion and to empower young people to speak up and seek assistance.”

The coroner said she would also like to see a recent government review into online safety give “sufficient weight to the risk of sextortion” and that young people targeted by these criminals need to know “they are the victim”.

US politician Brandon Guffey lost his 17-year-old son Gavin to sextortion in South Carolina on July 27, 2022 — chillingly within 24 hours of Rohan Cosgriff’s death.

Guffey labelled Meta’s announcement about removing accounts linked to Yahoo Boys as “a step, but a small one”.

In a social media post, he wrote: “Don’t let Meta make you feel they are doing anything to protect kids online. If they wanted it stopped they could immediately by blocking any and all accounts with CSAM (child sexual abuse material).”

Guffey revealed the Meta account that targeted Gavin was removed by law enforcement but claims a profile under the same name began messaging him again just this month.

“So yes, forgive me if I still think this is nothing more than a press run for Meta to try to make people think they actually give a damn,” he said.

Analyst Raffle said the headline should be: “Meta discloses that it facilitated largest blackmail operation in human history.”

There is no doubt that any action by Meta to prevent sextortion is better than none, but questions remain.

Why did this step take so long?

And when will Meta make further, necessary changes to its platforms to prevent innocent children from dying?

Watch 7NEWS Spotlight: Sextortion on 7plus.

If you or someone you know have been the victim of sextortion in Australia, visit: https://www.accce.gov.au/sextortionhelp

If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.