Kelly Geraldine Malone, Canadian Press, published on Sunday, June 19, 2022, 10:14 AM EDT
PILOT TOMB, Man. ‘Daniel Lints was kind and responsible with a witty sense of humor. The rural teenager from Manitoba had a bright future and a loving family. He played hockey and was a regular visitor to the nearby public pool.
He was a normal and happy 17-year-old boy until one cold February day he accepted a request for a message from what looked like an attractive young woman on Snapchat.
She forced him to send an explicit image. Minutes later, he was blackmailed and within three hours he took his own life.
“I feel like he was killed,” said Derek Lints, Daniel’s father, as tears streamed down his cheeks.
Lints and his wife, Jill, say they are dealing with an unimaginable tragedy. Daniel, whom most people called Danny, was the victim of a growing global blackmail scheme aimed primarily at teenagers.
“I know Danny would change things in this world,” said Jill Lints as she sat at the family kitchen table in Pilot Mound, Manchester, 180 miles southwest of Winnipeg. “He would do good things and he has already done good things.
“The world has lost a good man.”
Police agencies around the world are sending urgent warnings of blackmail against boys.
The trick is complicated, says Stephen Sauer, director of Cybertip.ca at the Canadian Center for Child Protection. Organized crime groups based abroad present themselves as young women on social media platforms that teenagers use, such as Snapchat and Instagram.
They reach out to teenagers and get quick sexual attention. Consumers take advantage of the level of development and impulsiveness of young boys and quickly want an image or video, says Sauer.
Then the threats begin.
Sauer says anonymous users, knowing they will be ashamed, say they will send images to family and friends if teenagers do not give them money.
“Young people are quite vulnerable to that.” he says. “They are still developing a sense of self. They are still developing their identity and are often engaged in sexual research. “
Many teenagers – like Danny – empty their bank accounts. But all too often, when extortion continues, they take their own lives.
The RCMP’s National Center for Crimes against Child Exploitation received a total of 52,306 complaints for 2020-2021, an increase of 510 percent from seven years earlier. Experts point to the increase in online activity during the pandemic as a contributing factor.
Cybertip, the Canadian Council for Reporting Sexual Abuse of Children Online, had an average of 20 reports per month of this type of sexual exploitation in 2021. This year, the number has risen to 55 and rose to 75 in May.
Mountains from coast to coast issued warnings. Calgary police warned earlier this month that there have been nearly 50 cases in the city alone since the beginning of the year. “We believe that these crimes are significantly under-reported,” said a sergeant. Said Graham Smiley.
Police are telling parents to talk to their children about online risks. The RCMP says that any victim of sexual exploitation should stop communicating with the instigator and notify an adult, confidant, Cybertip or police.
Danny’s parents say at least two other boys from their small community in Manitoba have been attacked in the months since their son’s death.
They say the Pilot Mound, with a population of just over 600, is the perfect place to raise their son and two daughters. People take care of each other and have a sense of security.
They never expected a threat from all over the world to penetrate social media.
Daniel was calm and content. He worked hard and with his own savings bought his first mobile tablet to play games with friends. Derek Lints talks to his son about online safety.
When Daniel grew up, he gained more freedom online. He told his family about a presentation at school about Amanda Todd, who took her own life at the age of 15 in 2012 after years of online blackmail. A Dutch citizen has been tried in British Columbia and pleaded not guilty to five counts, including criminal harassment and communicating with a young man to commit a sexual offense.
One in three Internet users in the world is a child – one in five in Canada. Many countries are putting pressure on social media companies to ensure that the platforms are safe for this demographic.
The European Union has recently agreed on a remarkable regulation for technology giants. Australia and New Zealand are moving in the same direction.
Canada has set up an online safety advisory board to establish a regulatory framework to address harmful content online.
Sauer says social media platforms have a responsibility to keep children safe. They can do much more, he says.
“There seems to be a lack of will and a lack of pressure and obviously a lack of regulation in this area.
More than 10 years after Todd’s death, the Linze family are disappointed that the children are still at risk. They want every parent and teenager to be aware of blackmail scams. They want pressure on social media companies to keep children safe.
“This is our way of fighting these predators who stole Danny from us. That’s what we can do right now, “said Jill Lints.
“We can tell anyone.”
Where to get help
Visit the Canadian national cyber line Cybertip.ca to report online sexual abuse / exploitation, unauthorized distribution of intimate images or other forms of online child victimization.
If you know of a child who is in imminent danger or risk, call 911 or your local police.
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