Gavin Guffey sent the scammers $25 -- all the money he had in his Venmo account -- and pleaded for more time, but 'they didn't care,' said his father, Brandon Guffey.
Authorities say the criminals talk their way into obtaining explicit photos and demand money to keep the sexual pictures private.
Gavin had unwittingly become a victim of sexual extortion, or "sextortion," a crime the FBI warns is increasingly targeting underage boys. Sextortion cases have gone up in the past year, federal officials said in a recent safety alert issued in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The cases are contributing to an alarming number of suicides nationwide, the alert said.
Guffey and his wife Melissa have spent months trying to untangle the mystery surrounding their son's death. Gavin had used Venmo to send the scammers $25 -- all the money he had in his account -- and pleaded for more time. Predators typically trick their young male victims into believing they are talking to girls their own age, persuade them to send explicit photos and videos, and threaten to release those images if a payment is not sent.
And in December police in Los Angeles arrested a suspect in the case of 17-year-old Ryan Last, who killed himself in February 2022 in San Jose, California, hours after being victimized by a similar sextortion scam.Guffey knows all too well the emotional toll sextortion takes on families. Nearly a year later, he's still struggling with what happened at his home that morning.
The flag hangs in his office. It's a conversation starter that always leads to discussions about his son -- and the dangers that sextortion scams pose to teens.
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Lawmaker who lost son to suicide after 'sextortion' scam fights to save other teensGavin Guffey sent the scammers $25 -- all the money he had in his Venmo account -- and pleaded for more time, but 'they didn't care,' said his father, Brandon Guffey.
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