FBI Arrests 22 Nigerians in Global Teen Sextortion Scam

In a major international effort, the FBI has arrested 22 Nigerians accused of running a teen sextortion scam that has been linked to more than 20 teenage suicides in the United States since 2021.

The arrests were part of a global operation named Operation Artemis, which also involved law enforcement agencies from Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

The FBI began Operation Artemis almost two years ago after receiving thousands of reports about young boys being tricked into sending explicit photos online. Once the victims sent the photos, the scammers would threaten to share the images unless the boys paid them money.

“These criminals targeted vulnerable teens online and then pressured them to send money to stop their private photos from being exposed,” the FBI said in a statement on its official website. “As a result of Operation Artemis, FBI investigations led to the arrest of 22 Nigerian suspects, with at least one case linked to a young American who took his own life.”

The scam typically involves fraudsters pretending to be young women online. They start friendly chats with teen boys, then convince them to exchange nude pictures. Once the boys send the images, the blackmail begins. Even when the teens pay, the threats usually continue, causing extreme fear and stress.

“Analysis of victims’ phones and social media accounts revealed heartbreaking messages of young boys trying to save themselves from humiliation,” the FBI noted.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), more than 34,000 victims of sextortion were reported in 2023. That number jumped to over 54,000 in 2024. In just two years, nearly $65 million has been lost to these scams.

From October 2021 to March 2023, U.S. law enforcement and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) identified over 12,600 minors—mostly boys—who were targeted in these sextortion cases. NCMEC reported a sharp increase in financial sextortion, with over 26,000 cases in 2023 compared to just 10,731 the year before.

In Australia, police are now handling around 300 new sextortion cases every month.

As part of the investigation, FBI Special Agent Matthew Crowley traveled to Nigeria to speak directly with some of the arrested suspects. She wanted to understand why they chose sextortion instead of other scams like romance fraud or email fraud.

“One suspect told me, ‘It’s easy money. If one victim doesn’t respond, I just move to the next,’” said Crowley. “They could target 40 people a day, and if only three of them paid $200 each, that’s $600 made in a day.”

This growing online crime has led to devastating consequences for families. One heartbroken father shared how his 16-year-old son died by suicide in 2023 after falling victim to sextortion.

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“He lost everything in that moment—his dreams, his friends, his future,” the father said. “Imagine someone coming into your home and harming your child. This was worse, he was so scared, he took his own life.”

The FBI is urging parents and guardians to talk to their children about online safety and to report suspicious behavior immediately. They are also calling on tech platforms to do more to detect and stop these harmful activities.

As Operation Artemis continues, the FBI hopes these arrests will send a clear message: those who prey on vulnerable teens will be found and held accountable.

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