WEST MONROE, La. (KTVE/KARD) — Recently, FBI Little Rock and FBI New Orleans have noticed an increase in sextortion schemes in South Arkansas and northern Louisiana, targeting children. The FBI received numerous reports of predators posing as children on social media to coerce minors into sending sexual explicit videos of themselves and then extorting money from the underage victims.

According to FBI Little Rock, these schemes have target children in areas in Arkansas such as El Dorado, Magnolia, and Monticello. According to FBI New Orleans, they have seen these schemes in Louisiana areas such as Monroe, Alexandria, and Shreveport.

The FBI say the schemes are illustrated as listed below:

• The predator, who poses as a child on social media, uses manipulation to convince the minor victim to engage in sexual activity over video chat.
• The videos or images are secretly recorded and saved by the predator.
• The predator then reveals they have saved the recordings and attempt to extort money from the victim by threatening to post the videos on social media pages.
• The predator ask for bank account login information or request gift cards.

The FBI encourages parents to protect their children from these schemes by blocking messages from strangers, and encouraging the children to report suspicious behavior to a trusted adult.

If you know anyone who was a victim of sextortion in Arkansas or Louisiana, contact FBI Little Rock at 501-221-9100 or FBI New Orleans at 504-816-3000, do not delete anything before authorities review it, and tell investigators everything about the online encounters.