Mar 24, 2026
A 22-year-old man has admitted to hacking the social media accounts of hundreds of teens and young adults, then threatening to share their private photos and videos with friends, family or the world unless they complied with his demands.
Federal prosecutors say Jamarcus Mosley of Mobile, Ala., gained access to victims’ sensitive content through a variety of tactics and used them as leverage for additional explicit material or money.
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Mosley pleaded guilty to federal charges of computer fraud, extortion and cyberstalking and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27, 2026 (1). But that doesn’t mean the problem has gone away.
These types of blackmail schemes are becoming increasingly common. The FBI received nearly 55,000 reports of sextortion and extortion in 2024, with financial losses rising 59% from the prior year to $33.5 million (2).
How the scams work
Scammers typically use impersonation tactics, often called catfishing, to gain trust.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), one of Mosley’s tactics was to pose as a friend, claim he needed help recovering an account and ask victims for “recovery passcodes” that granted him access to their accounts (1). In other cases, scammers pose as attractive peers, send suggestive images and pressure victims to respond with similar content.
The objective is to obtain compromising material, then threaten to share it unless their demands are met.
The DOJ did not disclose how much Mosley demanded.
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Teens are especially vulnerable
Adolescents are frequent targets because they spend significant time on social media and may be more trusting, more likely to communicate with strangers, more susceptible to scams and less certain about how to protect themselves (3).
While girls are more likely to be blackmailed with non-financial demands (like sharing more intimate images or entering into a relationship with the perpetrator), boys are disproportionately affected by financial sextortion. According to an analysis by the advocacy group Thorn, 90% of sextortion complaints to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children tipline that have age and gender data had to do with boys 14 to 17 (4).
The fear of having a compromising image shared can leave these boys feeling trapped and too embarrassed to seek help. That makes them easy to extort. In many instances, once money is sent, scammers keep demanding more (5).
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And it’s not just a case of losing money. The emotional toll can be devastating. Sextortion has even been identified as a contributing factor to cases of self-harm and suicide among teens (6).
How parents can help protect their kids
Open, non-judgmental conversations about online behavior are the strongest defenses against sextortion. That includes making children aware of these scams, explaining that any shared content could become public, and highlighting common warning signs — such as requests to move conversations to private platforms, demands for sensitive images or requests for passwords or recovery codes.
“Parents should have a conversation with their child/children to let them know that there is nothing they can’t come to them with, and that they are open for tough or uncomfortable conversations at any time,” Chris Hill, a board member at the Network Contagion Research Institute and chairman of a police organization that works with youth, told CNBC.
Other tips offered by experts include:
- Paying attention to sudden changes in mood, secrecy about device use or withdrawal from normal activities (7).
- Putting limits on internet or device use, including only using it in communal areas and shutting off access at night.
- Keeping accounts private instead of public (7).
Read More: Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it
What to do if your child is targeted
If a child becomes a victim, authorities recommend taking these steps:
- Do not pay the scammer. The FBI warns that paying often leads to additional demands (8).
- Preserve all evidence, including screenshots, usernames and messages to assist investigators.
- Report the incident immediately to local law enforcement, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (9) and the NCMEC (10).
- Provide emotional support. Reassuring teens they are not alone can help them come forward and heal from this awful experience.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
U.S. Department of Justice (1); FinCEN (2); Mandated Reporter Training (3); Thorn (4); FBI (5); WDBJ7 (6); CNBC (7); FBI (8); IC3 (9); National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (10)
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Daniel Liberto is a financial journalist with over 10 years of experience covering markets, investing, and the economy. He writes for global publications and specializes in making complex financial topics clear and accessible to all readers.
