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This chilling message was received on social media by United States youth Evan Boettler, from a person he formerly assumed to be a teenage female - in fact, it was a digital criminal.

Merely an hour and a half following the initial communication, the 16-year-old ended his life.

Sextortion - sexual extortion is a quickly proliferating internet criminal activity. Victims - often teenagers in the US and Europe are manipulated into sharing private images or recordings, which the scammers threaten to pass on unless they are paid.

After being informed that night of his death, comprehension escaped us

In the Missouri home she shares with Evan's father Brad, she portrays their offspring as a intelligent, humorous adolescent who loved to fish, play sport and hunt.

The Online Pathway

Almost two years following, the family's sorrow remains intense, and their quest for explanations encountered obstacles. Online networks including Meta decline to provide data absent judicial authorization.

However, a single important indicator remained - during the incident the criminal requested Evan's platform access information, and when they used this, they abandoned an internet protocol marker.

That digital footprint led me to multiple locations in Nigeria, chiefly its most inhabited urban center, Lagos, where I hoped to discover who was responsible.

The Online Scam System

Initial encounters directed me to the alleyways which are home to many of the city's fraudsters, identified as "Yahoo Boys" - named after the email they used to run online scams at the beginning of the millennium.

These adolescent males, commonly in their third decade, dwell in underprivileged zones but aspire to luxury vehicles and rapid wealth.

I don't feel bad because I need the money

That's where I met Ola. He detailed the processes of online exploitation with a matter-of-fact ease.

You open a female account using fake names from fake generators, he said. It's a site where you get names of people from the country that you want.

Systematic Online Fraud Groups

Ola functioned solitarily, but additional instances demonstrate how digital blackmail in Lagos has developed into increasingly structured interconnected activities - criminal groups managed with leadership, ranking systems and shared assets, designed to maximise profit.

The trail eventually took me into the waterways of Makoko, within the metropolis's most disadvantaged zones, where wooden houses balanced on stilts emerge along the periphery of Lagos Lagoon.

I had learned about activities called "Hustle Kingdoms" – spaces containing groups of youthful males utilizing mobile devices for fraud.

Mystical Aspects of Digital Fraud

These scammers told me that a lot of Yahoo boys were transitioning into what they called Yahoo Plus. This entailed them approaching neighborhood clerics to consecrate schemes.

Spiritual practitioners have historically been integrated within Nigerian society, and for particular persons, approaching them appeared as ordinary as acquiring a fresh SIM card.

Expanding International Issue

In the US, reports of sextortion to the FBI have more than doubled over the last three-year period, attaining a peak of 55,000 during 2024.

Digital network businesses state they are addressing but their critics argue they could intervene more aggressively.

Corporate Responses and Criticisms

A representative for Meta stated the implication that it could remove online exploitation if it merely elected to was basically inaccurate.

They keep demonstrating that they don't want to know when kids are in harm

The bereaved parents' suspicion is mirrored inside the company.

Aid and Support Possibilities

• Various organizations provide confidential reporting tools for those affected by online exploitation
• Expert assistance can generate online identifiers to stop photograph distribution
• Counseling options remain available for persons encountering cyber threats

Meanwhile, for Evan's parents, the barriers to justice remain insurmountable. With social media platforms unable to release the data, every expectation of locating Evan's criminal depended on a West African telecommunications company.

Parenting him proved effortless due to his exceptional character

During my communication with the Boettlers, they demonstrated kindness and appreciated my attempts. Brad had earlier characterized their child as "an extraordinary youth".