Cyber Safety in the News
5 Charged with Laundering Money for Sextortion Scheme That Led to Michigan Teen’s Suicide
Channel 4 News, August 2, 2024
17-year-old Jordan DeMay died from suicide after being blackmailed online. DeMay, 17, was a student at Marquette High School when Nigerian men contacted him on Instagram, pretending to be a girl. They convinced DeMay to send nude pictures of himself, and then extorted him for money, threatening to send those photos to everyone in his life. DeMay sent $300, but the men continued to pressure him for more.
He killed himself inside his home hours later, officials said. It was the first time that someone from Nigeria has been extradited to the U.S. to be held accountable for sextortion crimes, according to FBI, and this August, five people in the U.S. have been charged with money laundering in connection with the sextortion scheme. At least $178,658 was taken from more than one hundred victims during this particular scheme, officials said. It is exceedingly rare for perpetrators of sextortion schemes to be caught and face justice.
Trolls Used Her Face to Make Fake Porn. There Was Nothing She Could Do
The New York Times, August 3, 2024
“I felt like I didn’t have a choice in what happened to me or what happened to my body,” Sabrina Javellana, who in 2018, at age 21, won a seat on the city commission in Hallandale Beach, Fla., said. “I didn’t have any control over the one thing I’m in every day.”
She became one of the youngest elected officials in Florida’s history. Her progressive political positions had sometimes earned her enemies: She regularly received vitriolic and violent threats on social media; her condemnation of police brutality and calls for criminal-justice reform prompted aggressive rhetoric from members of local law enforcement. Disturbing messages were nothing new to her. Although in 2021, she noticed an unusual one. “Hi, just wanted to let you know that somebody is sharing pictures of you online and discussing you in quite a grotesque manner,” it began. “He claims that he is one of your ‘guy friends.’” This article tells the tale of how easy it is to manipulate images online and how the Internet is never truly private.
People Magazine, August 4, 2024
Just two weeks after having a talk with his parents about online dangers, Mason, then a 15-year-old freshman, hugged his dad good night, told his mom he loved her and went upstairs in their Evansville, Indiana, home.
After hearing a strange noise, his dad checked on him. “He found Mason unconscious, no heartbeat, with a belt around his neck,” his mom says. Looking at his phone later, they learned Mason had filmed himself trying a “choking challenge” that he had seen on YouTube. “But there was no search for the phrase in his history, an algorithm fed it to him unsolicited.” His mother told People. He died three days later.
Mason’s parents are part of a growing number of parents who say social media is to blame for harming their kids, physically and mentally. We warn students to avoid risky and dangerous online challenges.
Why Schools Are Racing to Ban Student Phones
The New York Times, August 11, 2024
As the new school year starts, a wave of new laws that aim to curb distracted learning is taking effect in Indiana, Louisiana, and other states. More than 70 percent of high school teachers say student phone distraction is a “major problem,” according to a survey this year by Pew Research. That is why states are mounting a bipartisan effort to crack down on rampant student cellphone use. So far this year, at least eight states have passed laws, issued orders, or adopted rules to curb phone use among students during school hours.
The issue is not simply that some children and teenagers compulsively use apps like Snap, TikTok and Instagram during lessons, distracting themselves and their classmates. In many schools, students have also used their phones to bully, sexually exploit and share videos of physical attacks on their peers.
We are offering consulting to schools looking to cut down on their student smartphone usage during the school day, and we expect to see more and more schools following this trend as well.
Impact of Social Media and Personal Devices on Mental Health
National Education Association, August 12, 2024
A new survey of National Education Association members reveals that educators are genuinely concerned about student mental health and the role of electronic devices and social media in public schools.
The NEA survey’s findings underscore the importance of developing strong local policies on personal device usage in schools, continuing to bring attention to the harms of social media, advocating for actionable strategies to protect the health and safety of Pre-K-12 students, and bolstering learning environments. The full national report can be downloaded at the link above.
Parents Think Social Media and Tech Is School Kids’ Greatest Foe
US News and World Report, August 16, 2024
Parents are worried that social media and technology will get in the way of students building meaningful connections with classmates and teachers during the upcoming school year, a new poll finds. Within this article, there are great recommendations for parents.
It is recommended that parents can help a child fit in by finding mentors to model positive behavior, particularly friends or family who faced similar difficulties in school, seeking out settings where a child would better fit in, like clubs or cultural organizations, and checking in with a child regularly to determine how they’re feeling at school or in other social venues.
Parents also should keep an eye out for warning signs that their student is spending too much time on social media, video games or other technology. These can include when the child is losing track of time, or acting preoccupied, distracted, or irritable.
