How My 17-Year-Old Son Committed Suicide After Being Targeted, Blackmailed With His Intimate Photos By Fraudsters
In the US alone, it has been linked to over 27 suicides.
Scammers, many reportedly from Nigeria, deceive victims into sharing explicit content, then blackmail them, BBC reported.
Jennifer Buta’s son, Jordan, 17, fell victim to this scam, leading to his tragic suicide two years ago. His bedroom remains untouched, a poignant memorial to her son, with his basketball jerseys, clothes, posters, and bedsheets still in place, a testament to the enduring pain of his loss.
It still smells like him. That’s one of the reasons I still have the door closed. I can still smell that sweat, dirt, cologne mix in this room. I’m just not ready to part with his stuff,” she said.
Jordan, a 17-year-old, was deceived by sextortion scammers on Instagram, who posed as a teenage girl, exchanging flirtatious messages and explicit images to manipulate him into sharing intimate photos.
The scammers then demanded hundreds of pounds to prevent sharing the images with his friends. Jordan, desperate to protect his reputation, sent money and pleaded with them to stop, threatening suicide if they didn’t.
The criminals callously replied, “Good… Do that fast – or I’ll make you do it.”
Tragically, Jordan took his own life just six hours after the scam began. His mother, Jenn, has since become a prominent advocate against sextortion, using the TikTok account Jordan created for her to raise awareness and warn others.
Her videos have reached over a million likes. The scammers, identified as Nigerian brothers Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, were arrested, extradited to the US, and face sentencing for child sexploitation charges.
Jordan’s heartbreaking story has become a rallying cry in the fight against sextortion.
In a document from May 2023 on the US Department of Justice’s website, Jennifer Buta reflected, “The past year without Jordan has flown by, yet it was the longest 13 months of our lives. Our hearts remain shattered, missing a vital part of our family. Jordan was a son, brother, grandson, friend, student, coworker, and role model. He perfectly balanced being fun-loving and hard-working. He played with passion, loved deeply, and lived fully. On a typical summer day, you’d find Jordan driving with music blaring, soaking up the sun at the beach, and dancing without a care.
“Jordan’s smile could light up any room, and his charm was infectious, leaving a lasting impression wherever he went. He sought connections and succeeded in making friends everywhere. As parents, we can’t fathom the fear Jordan experienced that night due to this senseless act. When we learned that Jordan might have been a victim of sextortion on Instagram, we knew we had to share his story. We wanted to raise awareness about sextortion and encourage families to have difficult conversations so others might avoid our pain.
“Many families reached out to support us, sharing that their children, too, were being targeted online. Because of Jordan’s story, those children sought help from their parents. We are deeply grateful for the support from our family, friends, community, and many others during this unimaginable time. The overwhelming support has humbled us, and we love you all.
“We are here today because of the incredible efforts of multiple agencies that collaborated on Jordan’s case over the past year.”
“Our focus now is on raising awareness among children, young adults, and parents. This terrible crime has forever altered our family, and we aim to prevent others from becoming victims. Sextortion can target anyone, regardless of age. We urge you to discuss this issue and have a plan for your children to seek help if needed. Jordan’s memory will drive us to share his story and help others,” she added.
Sextortion, a serious and often underreported crime, has surged alarmingly, with US cases more than doubling last year to 26,700 incidents. Tragically, at least 27 boys have taken their lives in the past two years due to sextortion.
Research and law enforcement have identified West Africa, particularly Nigeria, as a key location for sextortion operations. Recent arrests in Nigeria have linked suspects to cases in Australia, the US, and Canada, leading to several suicides.
In January, the NCRI uncovered a network of Nigerian social media accounts sharing sextortion tactics and scripts, often in Nigerian Pidgin. Unfortunately, cybercrime has become normalized among some young Nigerians, seen as a way to make a living amidst poverty and unemployment, according to Dr. Tombari Sibe of Digital Footprints Nigeria. He explains that many young people engage in cyber-fraud without fully understanding the consequences, driven by seeing their peers profit from it.
The term “Yahoo Boys” describes young Nigerians involved in cybercrime, a phenomenon dating back to the early 2000s with Nigerian Prince email scams.
