A family in Manitoba, Canada has a message for parents everywhere: “Make sure your kids know they can come to you or another safe adult with any problem, and nothing is too wrong to fix.” By itself, the message could apply to any number of troubles teenagers could encounter. In this case, however, the advice applies to sextortion, in which criminals obtain sexually explicit images of a person and then threaten to expose them online or to family members if they don’t pay up. Per the Drumheller Mail, it started for Danny Lints at 6:30pm on February 19. Three hours later, he was dead.
According to the CBC, someone on Snapchat posing as a young woman befriended Lints and gained his trust, convincing him to send an explicit picture. Within minutes, the blackmailing began. Lints drained his own bank account and paid what he could, but threats continued. His family says he was an excellent student and avid athlete who had never exhibited suicidal behaviors. His father, Derek Lints, told the CBC, “I feel like my son was murdered.” Stephen Sauer at the Canadian Center for Child Protection says, “Young people specifically are pretty vulnerable to this.” He blames it on organized crime rings based overseas who know how to manipulate the developing, impulsive teenage brain.
“I feel like my son was murdered.”
Nope, he did this all on his own.
Parenting, done right, is not easy, and although I can understand dad lashing out, he is probably doubting himself and what he could have done better.
Along with the talk every dad has with his son, that talk about sex, respecting women, having honor, integrity, compassion, and doing good for its own sake, similarly entreaties about having self-respect are equally valid. Reminders that the internet is forever so be mindful of what you type and what pictures you send, stuff you can never get back.
Odd, it seems these types of crimes, and teenage suicide seem to parallel a drop in religious beliefs, and general morality. I wonder if there is a connection?
Heartbreaking. Praying for family. Satan is closing in on our children.
Psalm 91
And here in the US our children are surrounded by queers posing as teachers convincing our kids that they are not who they think they are. And their objective is far more devious than blackmail.
@Tony R: When I was a freshman in HS, there was a girl in my class who went all through grade school and Jr high Catholic School. Her family were devout Catholics. She got pregnant and killed herself due to her strict religious upbringing, she couldn’t face her parents. I’ll never forget it.
Good luck blackmailing me with a Pic of my junk…
I wait until my friends are in serious meetings and send them a pic just to fuck them up.
How about counseling-advising kids NOT to reveal any pics of themselves online, their activities, addresses etc. Don’t give scammers and thieves any fuel.
Anonymous. Yes.
Every kid should be warned from early on about the sickness of social media, and to limit it (best technique — mock this shit), and also be told that there is never ever any reason to take naked pictures or post anything else private on the internet.