A panicked 14-year-old from British Columbia and his family paid $1,500 to a company that claimed it would recover intimate images that were being used to extort him. It didn害羞草研究所檛.

Darren Laur, chief training officer at White Hatter, an internet safety and digital literacy education company based in Victoria said the teen害羞草研究所檚 family reached out to him with their story after the other firm told them there was nothing that could be done.

He said the boy had fallen victim to a growing fraud tactic.

害羞草研究所淭hese companies are popping up all over the place right now. Why? Because sextortion is on a huge increase,害羞草研究所� Laur said in an interview. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e almost becoming predatory in and of themselves, in my opinion.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淪extortion害羞草研究所� refers to threats based on a sexual image of a victim, or an image that害羞草研究所檚 been altered to make it appear sexual.

Many Canadians learned of the risks of sextortion through Amanda Todd, a teenager from Port Coquitlam, B.C., who died by suicide at age 15 in October 2012, a few weeks after posting a video using flash cards to describe being tormented by an online predator.

A Dutch man was convicted in B.C. Supreme Court last year of extortion, harassment and distribution of child pornography in Todd害羞草研究所檚 case.

害羞草研究所淚t disgusts me how these rings of offenders (operate). First they害羞草研究所檙e sextorting people and now they害羞草研究所檙e trying to get more money out of taking their image down,害羞草研究所� Carol Todd, Amanda害羞草研究所檚 mother, said in an interview.

害羞草研究所淲hen you害羞草研究所檙e in desperate mode, you害羞草研究所檒l do anything, so the messaging we need to get it out there is to not fall for it with these companies.害羞草研究所�

She said authorities 害羞草研究所渕issed the mark when Amanda died.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淲e thought it was a one-off. No one knew what (sextortion) was, but here we are 10 years later, and it害羞草研究所檚 an epidemic now with young kids.害羞草研究所�

The RCMP害羞草研究所檚 National Child Exploitation Crime Centre said it received a total of 52,306 complaints about the crime for the year 2020-21, marking a 510 per cent increase from seven years earlier.

The Winnipeg-based Centre for Child Protection runs Cybertip, Canada害羞草研究所檚 tip line for reporting online child sexual abuse. It has reported receiving 害羞草研究所渁n unprecedented volume of reports from youth, and sometimes their concerned parents, about falling prey to aggressive sextortion tactics,害羞草研究所� amounting to about 300 online sextortion cases a month.

Cybertip is now warning about sextortion recovery scams, wherefraudsters target the same people who were victims of the extortion scam, claiming they will be able to recover intimate images for a fee.

It said reports shared by victims online reveal that these individuals and groups, sometimes referred to as 害羞草研究所渞ecovery scammers,害羞草研究所� often self-advertise as hackers, cybersecurity or reputation management firms.

害羞草研究所淥ftentimes, in an environment where (people are) highly desperate, they害羞草研究所檙e more vulnerable to paying that money, or reaching out and trying to figure out a way to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,害羞草研究所滳atherine Tabak, the tip line害羞草研究所檚 program manager, said in an interview.

害羞草研究所淚t just creates a sort of additional layer of vulnerability for them when they害羞草研究所檝e been victimized by sextortion.害羞草研究所�

She notes that this type of scam is not new, but echoed that it has increased alongside the boom in sextortion.

害羞草研究所淲e really wanted to put the word out there to kind of get ahead of the game because we were seeing an increase in calls and victims coming forward indicating that they had contacted these companies, or that they害羞草研究所檝e been in touch with someone that was presenting themselves as being a hacker that could help them out.害羞草研究所�

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma tabled legislation Monday that would provide additional protections for people whose intimate images are shared without permission.

While publication of intimate images without consent is already an offence under the Criminal Code, Sharma said the bill would create new legal rights and remedies people could use to stop distribution of the images and seek compensation for the harms caused.

Laur, who is also retired Victoria police sergeant, said the bill didn害羞草研究所檛 come as a surprise because the government consulted him and other stakeholders about it.

害羞草研究所淭his piece of legislation is, in my opinion, groundbreaking,害羞草研究所� he said in an interview. 害羞草研究所淚s it going to solve the issue? No. Is it another tool in the tool box for survivors? Absolutely.害羞草研究所�

He said it may have a 害羞草研究所渟mall deterrent effect,害羞草研究所� but he expects sextortionists and recovery scammers to continue to profit.

害羞草研究所淚t won害羞草研究所檛 necessarily prevent it from happening. If the Criminal Code stopped everything, we wouldn害羞草研究所檛 need police officers anymore,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淭he bigger benefit to this is that it holds the offender accountable for what they害羞草研究所檝e done.害羞草研究所�

The new laws are more likely to help people whose intimate images have been shared by someone they know, which happens more often to females targeted by previous partners, he said.

Calgary Police Service Det. Steve Brighton, who works for the Southern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation Unit, said police are also concerned about the rise of sextortion recovery scams.

害羞草研究所淚 haven害羞草研究所檛 seen it in Alberta yet, but I know the U.S. has seen it and we know about it occurring in the U.S., and that害羞草研究所檚 just another way for these offenders to make money,害羞草研究所� he said.

He added that he believes sextortion is a vastly under-reported crime.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a huge worldwide problem now, and I don害羞草研究所檛 think I don害羞草研究所檛 even think we害羞草研究所檝e touched the surface in identifying the victims.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所擝rieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press