Falkirk police chief warns children and young men at greatest risk of 'sextortion'
dailyrecord.co.ukCyber threats including the crime of 'sextortion' are now a major focus for police in Falkirk and across Forth Valley. Chief Superintendent Roddy Irvine told Falkirk Council's Scrutiny committee that Forth Valley is currently leading the way in Scotland in the fight against sextortion, where victims are blackmailed with revealing pictures or videos.
The perpetrators, he said, are often organised criminal gangs and young males - including children - are the most at risk. Read more: Warning Falkirk's 'black boxes' will only be taking glass from the start of October Presenting the annual police performance report to councillors, he said: "I'm always very clear, where children become victims of sextortion it is child sexual exploitation and it's often perpetrated by serious organised criminals."The key to tackling sextortion is education, prevention, support and the removal of stigma."Unfortunately, victims can sometimes feel ashamed or they can feel that they have done something wrong."It's important that they understand that they haven't - they are victims."CS Irvine said that the crime of sextortion was just one of many cyber threats that police are having to respond to, including cyber-enabled fraudsters.The area's top police officer said that social media had been "coordinating and triggering" the recent civil unrest in England and while the problems had largely passed Forth Valley by, work is ongoing behind the scenes to be aware of any threats to public safety.He told councillors: "Our threats are changing.
The frontline used to be the street corner or outside the pub but things have changed such that the frontline now includes wherever there is a computer screen, or the bedroom or the kitchen, depending on the
Read more on dailyrecord.co.uk