Undercover Detective: How I Trapped Predators on the Streets | Heidi Chance | Episode 181

Let's talk about this extortion because I know about it.

What troubles me about it is why...

I guess it's hard for me to put myself in a teenager's shoes, but you send nude pictures.

Essentially you get, you get talked into doing this nude pictures and then what do they do? Are they demanding money from you in order for, Hey, we won't tell anybody about this, but what are they asking for in return?

So in the initial stages of conversations with this stranger, basically, they're learning personal information about them.

And I talk about that in the book as far as someone asking you personal information, how old you are, your cross streets, where your siblings go to school, where your parents work, personal conversations that you wouldn't normally have like a friend, like another 12-year-old wouldn't ask you about your cross streets and things.

Yeah.

So they're learning that because they're learning where you go to school.

They're learning how they can use that information to threaten you later when they're ready to extort you.

So are they, when they're trying to extort you, are they trying to extort for money or are they trying to extort you, hey, we want more pictures?

Yeah, both.

I would say it would be money as well as more content from that person.

These are specifically the 764 group.

They're also thriving off of the views and the follows and the likes and the shares of other people that are following them doing this to other people.

So unfortunately, it's a sick, sick thing that's going on.

Is there a breakdown in terms of who gets targeted more, the girls or the boys?

So what I've learned is that sextortion is boys are more being targeted for that.

Why? I

don't know the reasoning behind that.

Do you think in the situations where these kids are killing themselves, do you think it affects the girls or the boys more? Because I would think, this is just me, I would think the boys would go, whatever, but that's not the case, right? So when it comes to maybe who's being affected more by this extortion and who's more willing to maybe take their lives, have you seen a kind of a trend or is it affecting both boys and girls?

I think it's the vulnerability of whatever person, because that's also what's going on here is that this extorter is seeking someone that they can manipulate.

And so unfortunately, I think it's been easier for them to manipulate boys for some reason.

I don't know why.

And maybe that's why they target boys more often.

What are the discussions you're having now with parents or this kind of you go out and trying to educate the public a little bit? what are the discussions, especially because I'm assuming that you're talking to the victims, if they, these guys are killing themselves and you go in and talk to the parents and stuff, what have you learned about what you're telling the parents to kind of mitigate those situations where it's like, look, let's, let's say John has sent out some nude pictures.

Let's talk about this extortion because I know about it.

What troubles me about it is why...

I guess it's hard for me to put myself in a teenager's shoes, but you send nude pictures.

Essentially you get, you get talked into doing this nude pictures and then what do they do? Are they demanding money from you in order for, Hey, we won't tell anybody about this, but what are they asking for in return?

So in the initial stages of conversations with this stranger, basically, they're learning personal information about them.

And I talk about that in the book as far as someone asking you personal information, how old you are, your cross streets, where your siblings go to school, where your parents work, personal conversations that you wouldn't normally have like a friend, like another 12-year-old wouldn't ask you about your cross streets and things.

Yeah.

So they're learning that because they're learning where you go to school.

They're learning how they can use that information to threaten you later when they're ready to extort you.

So are they, when they're trying to extort you, are they trying to extort for money or are they trying to extort you, hey, we want more pictures?

Yeah, both.

I would say it would be money as well as more content from that person.

These are specifically the 764 group.

They're also thriving off of the views and the follows and the likes and the shares of other people that are following them doing this to other people.

So unfortunately, it's a sick, sick thing that's going on.

Is there a breakdown in terms of who gets targeted more, the girls or the boys?

So what I've learned is that sextortion is boys are more being targeted for that.

Why? I

don't know the reasoning behind that.

Do you think in the situations where these kids are killing themselves, do you think it affects the girls or the boys more? Because I would think, this is just me, I would think the boys would go, whatever, but that's not the case, right? So when it comes to maybe who's being affected more by this extortion and who's more willing to maybe take their lives, have you seen a kind of a trend or is it affecting both boys and girls?

I think it's the vulnerability of whatever person, because that's also what's going on here is that this extorter is seeking someone that they can manipulate.

And so unfortunately, I think it's been easier for them to manipulate boys for some reason.

I don't know why.

And maybe that's why they target boys more often.

What are the discussions you're having now with parents or this kind of you go out and trying to educate the public a little bit? what are the discussions, especially because I'm assuming that you're talking to the victims, if they, these guys are killing themselves and you go in and talk to the parents and stuff, what have you learned about what you're telling the parents to kind of mitigate those situations where it's like, look, let's, let's say John has sent out some nude pictures.