Jordan DeMay, a Teen of USAcommitted suicide after being the victim of a online extortion.
Samuel and Samson Ogoshibrothers originally from Lagos, Nigeriathey contacted Jordan through social networksposing as a attractive girl of his age, and then they blackmailed him with their explicit photos. The tragedy occurred in 2022 and since then, his mother Jenn Buta has been working on a Campaign to raise awareness about these dangers.
From the first contact, the extortioners They carried out a well-structured plan. The brothers of 20 and 22 yearsthey flirted with Jordan in instagramsending him sexual photos and convincing him to share explicit images of himself. Then they asked money in exchange for not spreading the photos to all their contacts.
When Jordan told them that he couldn’t send any more money and that he was thinking about commit suicidethe blackmailers incited him to do it: “Do it quickly or I will make you do it,” was the cruel response of the Ogoshi. Six hours later, Jordan took his own life.
“Less than six hours passed from the time Jordan began communicating with them until he finally took his own life.”Jenn said to BBCNews from his home in Michigan, in the northern United States. “Within six hours, my son was dead,” she lamented.
In April this yeartwo others nigerian men were arrested after the suicide of an Australian boy, also a victim of Sextortion. Similar cases have increased in Japanand in USA The figures reflect a worrying increase: last year it was reported 26,700 caseswith at least 27 young people who committed suicide in the last two years.
Jordan’s mother is using the account TikTok that his son created him to warn young people about the Dangers of Sextortion, which mainly affects boys and young men. During the interview with BBCNewsJenn mentioned that the criminals They follow a very precise online script and quickly put pressure on their victims to move on to the next objective, always looking for the case volume.
In the middle of this week, those responsible for the National Center against Cybercrime of Nigeria will meet in London with the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) to improve cooperation in the fight against cybercrimeincluding sextortion.
In an effort to strengthen the preventionthe UK National Crime Agency (NCA) recently published a warning aimed at children and schools about the increase in these threats. According to the NCA, sextortion usually comes from foreign organized crime groupsmainly from West Africa and the Southeast Asian.
“There is an urgent need for teach the young To recognize suspicious behavior and avoid falling into these traps,” Jenn concluded in her statement.
In March 2022Jordan, a teenager from Michigan, United Statesreceived, through instagrama message from a user named “dani.robertts”, who claimed to have mutual friends with the. What started as a conversation unpretentious, soon led to an exchange of sexually explicit messages. The situation took a dark turn when “Dani” requested Jordan nude photosin spite of the initial negative of the young man.
In a desperate plea to ensure that this was not a scam, Jordan directly asked “Dani”: “Is this a scam?” The answer was a resounding “No.” With the initial trust placedJordan sent a intimate photo.
“Dani” then threatened to make Jordan’s photos public if he didn’t send her 1,000 dollars. According to the sheriff of Michigan, Greg Zyburtwho described the events to local media, “Dani” promised to distribute the images among the friends and family of the young man if he did not comply with the extortion.
Despite the Jordan’s effortswho sent more than 300 dollars to “Dani”, the extortion did not stop. The threats persistedwith “Dani” continually pressuring the teenager until he felt coraled.
In an act of extreme desperation, Jordan informed “Dani” of his intentions to take his life. Court documents reveal that Jordan held “Dani” directly responsible for her decision: “I’m thinking about taking my life because of you.” The response she received to her declared state of crisis was heartless: “Fine. Do it fast”.
Tragically, the March 25, 2022Jordan shot himself and died in his bed.
