Unsuspecting teenagers who frequent the many online social networking sites are now being targeted by extortionists in a new and alarming phase of the cyber crime being committed in the island.

Known as ‘net extortion’, police at the Cyber Crime Investigation and Research Unit say that while they had anticipated that it would start here, they are surprised at its quick introduction, having watched its growth abroad.

“I have been doing online investigation for years and following up online investigation and I could never imagine that this sort of social engineering and net extortion would have taken off in Jamaica so early,” Cyber Crime Unit boss Detective Sergeant Patrick Linton told the Sunday Observer during an interview on Friday.

“These things happen elsewhere. In other jurisdictions you have these kinds of crimes. I couldn’t imagine it would have taken off in Jamaica at this stage,” Linton reiterated.

Net extortion appears to have been going on “for quite some months”, according to information garnered through the Cyber Crime Unit’s investigations, which started over the past week following a complaint from a young victim who has already lost $16,000 in phone credit. The credit was sent to an unregistered local cellular number.

According to Linton, the scam is set in train when the perpetrators, surfing the various social networking sites, get hold of the personal information of unsuspecting teenagers, who they befriend online. Having access to the minors’ e-mail addresses, the predators add themselves to the prospective victims’ instant messaging windows.

Linton explained that the extortionists would then extract from the unsuspecting teens’ personal information such as their mothers’ maiden names, pets’ names, favourite teachers, favourite subjects, and more. The information, Linton continued, would then be used to reset the password to the victims’ e-mail. From there the victims would be threatened and pressured into sending phone credit to numbers supplied by the extortionists.

“They will ask you how important is your e-mail to you and tell you that you have to send $50 credit and you will get the new password,” Linton explained. “The demand is upped and the perpetrator keeps juicing you and does not hand over the new password.”

At the moment, Linton said his unit has no lead as to the identity of the extortionists or from what part of the island they may be operating.

The cyber crime boss is, however, urging parents to closely monitor their children’s Internet activities. He also said that parents should dissuade their teens from putting personal information on the Internet or communicate with strangers on the net.

“For now, they [perpetrators] are asking for money, but they may soon start demanding other favours, and for your children to meet them,” warned Linton. “This is not only dangerous for the kids but for the parents also, because these persons can seek them out and you don’t know what they have in mind.”

Linton said that crimes such as these are expected to “take off”, as in other jurisdictions, but lamented the fact that the country does not have the relevant legislation under which to prosecute offenders.

This concern was again raised by Director of Public Prosecution Paula Llewellyn at a forum last week. Llewellyn said that it was frustrating that cases are coming up for which there is no legislation under which to prosecute.