New statistics show that police-reported extortion cases in Canada have risen nearly 300 percent in the past decade, as crime surged online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These worrying increases are being facilitated by social media platforms and other electronic service providers,” said Lianna McDonald, executive director of the Canadian Center for Child Protection, in a press release.
“It should be a wake-up call.”
criminal data published by Statistics Canada on Tuesday also showed an eight percent increase in the non-consensual distribution of intimate images from 2020 to 2021. There were also increases in indecent or harassing communications, up four percent, and threats, an increase of three. percent.
The nature of these crimes has moved online, Statistics Canada said, and may have been exacerbated by increased internet activity during the pandemic. In 2021, there were nearly 15,500 threatening and harassing conduct violations related to cybercrime, a 21% increase from 2019.
Stephen Sauer, director of Cybertip.ca, said the problem has gotten worse over the past year. The Winnipeg-based Child Protection Center runs Cybertip, Canada’s tip line for reporting child sexual abuse online.
There was a 120 percent increase in online lure reports between January and June, Sauer said. The hotline is now seeing 300 extortion cases per month, up from 155 earlier this year.
what people are reading
“What this really says is that there is a significant problem here. Police are seeing an increase, we are seeing an increase,” Sauer said.
The number of people targeted is also likely higher, Sauer said, but many don’t report it out of embarrassment or embarrassment, especially when it comes to children.
“I think there are a lot of kids who are trying to handle these situations on their own without an adult or letting us know,” she said.
‘A wake-up call’: Online crime is experiencing a marked increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. #Sextortion #Covid19 #OnlineChildSexualAbuse
Sauer said children are often specific targets. Foreign-based organized crime networks pose as young women on social media platforms used by teenagers, such as Snapchat and Instagram.
They convince them to send sexually explicit images or videos and then immediately threaten to share the content if the children do not give them money or sometimes more images.
The consequences of the crime can be deadly. A 17-year-old from Manitoba committed suicide earlier this year, just three hours after being attacked online.
Law enforcement agencies across Canada have been sending out warnings after a sharp rise in sextortion scams.
Statistics Canada also noted an increase in incidents related to luring a child through a computer, up five per cent compared to 2020.
Last month, a 13-year-old Alberta girl was missing for more than a week before she was found in Oregon and her family says she got caught up in the mind games of a man she met online.
A 40-year-old American man was arrested and charged with rape, sexual abuse and kidnapping.
Sauer said these cases involving online crimes can be extremely difficult for police to investigate because most social media companies are not located in Canada and are not necessarily required to provide information to officers.
While parents should discuss online safety with children, Sauer said that may not be the only protection for children who are increasingly using the Internet for school and socializing.
Social media companies could make immediate changes to ensure children are safe on their platforms, Sauer said. The federal government could also introduce regulations, she added.
Ottawa has just concluded an online safety advisory council and is in the process of consulting to form a regulatory framework to address harmful content online.
McDonald said the new crime data reinforces the need for the government to “rapidly impose regulatory barriers around the technology industry.”
“We do not allow other types of manufacturers to bring products onto the Canadian market that pose a risk to the public,” he said.
“However, in the digital space, it is a free game at the expense of children.”
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 3, 2022.