With the holiday season in full swing and schools across Des Moines, Iowa, closing for winter break, local police are sounding the alarm about a troubling online threat: financial sextortion. On December 23, 2025, Des Moines Police issued a stark warning to parents and teens, highlighting that increased time spent online during the break could make young people especially vulnerable to this rapidly growing form of cybercrime.
Financial sextortion, a crime where perpetrators obtain or claim to possess sexually explicit images and then threaten to share them unless paid, has emerged as one of the fastest-rising dangers facing youth online. According to the Des Moines Police Department, teenage boys are currently the most common targets. The warning comes at a time when many families are preparing for the holidays, perhaps not expecting that the greatest risk to their children might be lurking behind a screen rather than outside their front door.
Unfortunately, the threat is not just theoretical. Recent legal developments in the United States underscore the very real consequences of sextortion schemes. On December 23, 2025, federal authorities reported the sentencing of Cross Abu Cole, a 21-year-old Ghanaian citizen, by a U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York. Cole was convicted of interstate communications with intent to extort, stemming from a Snapchat-related sextortion case that dates back to October 30, 2022. Court records, as outlined by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, reveal that Cole improperly accessed a victim’s Snapchat account, obtained nude photographs, and then demanded $200 via a Google Voice call, threatening to release the images to the victim’s family and friends if payment was not made.
The victim, under intense pressure, initially sent the $200 through CashApp as instructed but later canceled the transaction. Despite this, the damage was done: some of the victim’s Snapchat contacts received the explicit photos. The case, investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under Special Agent Philip Tejera, ended with Cole serving about seven months in custody before being handed over to the Department of Homeland Security. U.S. authorities have not disclosed further details about Cole’s immigration status, but his conviction and subsequent deportation highlight the international and cross-border nature of these crimes.
As sobering as these cases are, the consequences of sextortion can be even more tragic. On December 23, 2025, two grieving families filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, alleging that design flaws and insufficient safety measures on the social media platforms contributed to their teenage sons’ deaths by suicide after falling victim to online sextortion scams. The lawsuit, led by attorney Matthew Bergman, argues that Meta was fully aware of the risks posed by sextortion but chose to prioritize engagement metrics and profits over the safety of young users.
Bergman did not mince words in his criticism: “This was known. This was not an accident. This was not a coincidence,” he stated, according to the lawsuit. “This was a foreseeable consequence of the deliberate design decisions that Meta made. Their own documents show that they were very aware of this extortion phenomenon, and they simply chose to put their profits over the safety of young people.” He continued, “Meta’s secret is out. For years, Meta knew Instagram was a hunting ground for predators, yet chose to protect engagement metrics over children’s lives. That conscious decision to connect random strangers to children has cost families their sons and daughters, turning Instagram into the epicenter of sextortion-related youth suicides. Had they chosen to follow their own internal recommendations they could have saved countless lives.”
Meta, for its part, has acknowledged the severity of the issue. “Sextortion is a horrific crime. We support law enforcement to prosecute the criminals behind it, and we continue to fight them on our apps on multiple fronts,” the company said in a statement. Meta outlined several steps it claims to have taken to address the problem, including preventing accounts with suspicious behavior from following teens, blurring potentially sensitive images sent in direct messages, and reminding teens of the risks of sharing such images. The company also notes that it informs users when they may be communicating with someone in another country and has a partnership with Thorn to provide resources for those being threatened with sextortion.
Still, critics argue that these measures are not enough. The company’s own Safety Center states, “Sharing – or threatening to share – intimate images without consent is against Meta policies. Learn about steps you can take to remove the images, prevent them from being shared or re-shared and how to find support services. Sextortion is the threat to reveal intimate images to force you to do something you don’t want to do.” Yet, as the lawsuit and tragic outcomes suggest, policies alone may not be sufficient to protect vulnerable users.
The dangers of social media for young people are well documented. As Psychology Today reports, “recent evidence suggests that children and teens, especially during early adolescence when brains are still developing and personal identities and sense of self-worth are forming, are especially sensitive to social pressures, peer opinions, and online social comparisons.” The combination of these developmental vulnerabilities and the predatory tactics of online extortionists can have devastating consequences, particularly when young victims feel isolated or ashamed.
Experts and authorities alike stress the importance of parental involvement. The Des Moines Police Department urges parents to stay vigilant, especially during periods when children are likely to spend more time online, such as school holidays. Monitoring social media use, maintaining open lines of communication, and educating teens about the risks of sharing personal content can make a significant difference. The recent lawsuit against Meta and the criminal case in Buffalo serve as stark reminders that the threat of sextortion is not going away—and that proactive steps are needed at every level, from families to tech companies to law enforcement.
For families facing the unthinkable aftermath of sextortion, resources are available. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988) offers support for those struggling with harmful thoughts, and organizations like Thorn provide guidance for victims of online exploitation. Ultimately, as the holiday break unfolds and screens become a bigger part of daily life, awareness, vigilance, and honest conversations may be the best defenses against a crime that thrives in secrecy and shame.
