Nashville, Tennessee – This article discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Tamia Woods and Tim Woods’ reality became a “nightmare” on November 19, 2022, when their 17-year-old, quintessential American son committed suicide after becoming the victim of sex blackmail on Instagram.
That day, James became another young victim of an epidemic of social media crimes in which users are tricked, and often coerced, into sending lewd photos to scammers who then pose as others and blackmail their victims to extract money or more lewd photos from them — often posing as teenage girls to target teenage boys.
“It’s scary. … It’s been a nightmare. We didn’t really know what was going on, what had happened,” Tamia Woods told Fox News Digital at CrimeCon, the annual true crime documentary convention in Nashville over the weekend.
Tamia and Tim flew to the convention from their hometown of Streetsboro, Ohio, to educate people about the dangers of extortion, a relatively new and rapidly growing crime that is harming American children and adults.
South Carolina family of 13-year-old boy who committed suicide sues Snapchat over blackmail scheme
Tamia Jones and Tim Jones lost their son to suicide on November 19, 2022, after he was the victim of an Instagram sextortion scam. (Handouts for families)
“In many cases, self-harming and [is] In many cases, it is also fatal,” Tamia said.
Tamia and Tim first learned their son had been the victim of a sextortion scam through police — they had never heard of sextortion before that conversation.
South Carolina lawmaker exposes dangers of ‘blackmail’ after teenage son’s suicide
The sex-blackmail threats James Woods received. (Handouts for families)
“It was very new at the time. And [police] “They explained it was financial sextortion,” Tamia said, “and what we were about to see was very hard to read. We later found out James had received 200 messages in 19 and a half hours. We didn’t know who was next. They had taken a bunch of screenshots of Jim’s Instagram friends. They had already started sending James’ photos and threats to his friends. So we had to act fast to stop this from happening to anyone else.”
Nigerian brothers plead guilty to deadly extortion plot after Michigan teen’s suicide
In November 2022, a scammer posing as a girl contacted James on Instagram and exchanged more than 200 messages over a 19-hour period. (Handouts for families)
A Meta spokesperson said the company has rules that prohibit sharing or threatening to share private photos of others, and it also restricts adults over 18 from sending private messages to teenagers they’re not connected to on Instagram or Messenger, and defaults to stricter messaging settings for people under 16.
In April, Meta announced new features to combat sextortion, including a nudity protection feature that will be turned on by default for users under the age of 18, blur nude images sent in the app’s direct messages (DMs), and notify users via message if the app detects nudity in their DMs. Additionally, users will receive “hints” when sending or receiving nude images, reminding them of the potential risks of sending such images.
They have also partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to launch a free service called “Take it Down” to help victims of sextortion delete explicit images of them or stop bad actors from sharing them online. The tool can be accessed here: Please visit https://takeitdown.ncmec.org.
FBI warns that AI-generated ‘deepfakes’ – harmless images – are fuelling a surge in extortion scams
James Woods loved to run, play games and joke with his friends and family. (Handouts for families)
The FBI defines sextortion as a criminal act in which criminals contact victims online and coerce them into sending explicit images or videos in exchange for more explicit material or money. The FBI has received more than 13,000 reports of online financial fraud. Sexual extortion involving at least 12,600 victims From October 2021 to March 2023.
“I have decided to let your life rot, rather than make it a waste, a trash heap, a shame, a disgrace, a hell, a real disaster, a hell on earth…”
The Woods say their son was a happy, talented teenager who was excited about the prospect of going to college.
The Woods say their son was a happy, talented teenager who was excited about the prospect of going to college. (Handouts for families)
“He was friendly. He was charismatic. He was an athlete,” Tim Woods said. “He just loved the game. He just loved people. He was a fun person to love. He always loved to help people. He was a really caring, compassionate person.”
After their son’s death, the Woods founded the James Woods Foundation, which aims to protect children not only from sexual assault but also from “rape, molestation, harassment, cyberbullying and suicide,” Tamia said.
Suicide warning signs: What you need to know about prevention, warning signs, and how to deal with the problem
After their son’s death, the Woods founded the James Woods Foundation, which aims to protect children not only from sexual assault but also from “rape, molestation, harassment, cyberbullying and suicide,” Tamia said. (Handouts for families)
“We found that young people desperately need us to encourage them. A lot of times they don’t understand that… We want to hold them accountable for their mistakes, but we don’t want them to go to such extremes as the death penalty,” Tamia explained.
“We also teach kids how to recognise that they are victims. We encourage them to speak up. In the year and a half since we started, we have encouraged kids to speak up and as a result, two pedophiles have been arrested. We have actually prevented a number of suicides and helped children who were victims of sexual blackmail.”
At the conference, the Woods spoke alongside South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey, who lost his 17-year-old son to suicide in July 2022 after a sex blackmail scam on Instagram.
FBI warns of increasing number of juveniles being targeted in online ‘blackmail’ schemes
South Carolina Rep. Brandon Guffey is urging people who may be victims of sextortion to contact police. (Brandon Guffey)
Guffey sued Mehta earlier this year after her son encountered a sex blackmailer posing as a girl on the photo-sharing app.
“Within the first four months of me taking office, Gavin’s Law was passed, which provides for a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison if you target a minor, and an additional 15 years in prison if the crime results in serious bodily injury or death,” Guffey told Fox News Digital at CrimeCon.
“Plus, we mandated that Gavin’s Law and sextortion be taught in schools across South Carolina. That was a first step.”
Snapchat ‘blackmail’ scams targeting minors on the rise, experts warn
Guffey also said he wants children to own their “name, image and likeness” just like athletes, to ensure strangers cannot use children’s images in blackmail schemes, artificial intelligence-generated pornography or other crimes on social media.
“Look back at the big tobacco companies: their first step was to just put a warning label on the pack. Yet Apple and Google allowed 13-year-olds to enter into contracts to download apps without any major warning,” Guffey explained.
“Firstly, I don’t know if it’s legal, but once these apps exist, it allows for the transfer of child sexual abuse material through other apps like Snap and Instagram. I’ve heard it’s happening on Discord and gaming platforms as well.”
Brandon Guffey (right) has been warning people about the dangers of sex blackmail since his son Gavin (second from right) committed suicide last year. (Brandon Guffey)
Click here to get the FOX News app
Guffey and Woods have many common goals, but their most important one right now is spreading awareness about the existence and prevalence of sex blackmail schemes on social media.
“I can’t tell you how many kids and parents have called me because they’ve heard me talk, or talked to my kids, or found out this is going on,” Guffey said. “That’s what keeps me going. That’s what keeps me going, knowing that I’m actually reaching people.”
