Important safety update: Protecting your child from online sextortion

Dear District 88 families,

Following a recent news report on NBC Chicago, school leaders throughout DuPage County – in partnership with the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, the DuPage Regional Office of Education and local police departments – are taking proactive steps to address a critical online safety concern: financial sextortion.

Financial sextortion occurs when an individual (often posing as a peer online) tricks a young person into sending explicit photos and subsequently demands money or gift cards, threatening to share the images if the individual does not comply.

To equip families with the tools needed to combat this issue, the two brief public awareness videos linked below have been produced specifically for our community:

• Sextortion - Recognizing the Digital Threat
  
  
• Sextortion - Reporting, Protection, and Support

We encourage you to watch these videos to learn more about this crime.

Key reminders for students and parents/guardians:

• You are not alone: Victims are often targeted by sophisticated criminal networks.
  
  
• Do not pay or comply: Conforming to demands rarely stops the blackmail.
  
  
• Save evidence, and report: Take screenshots of user handles, messages and payment requests; then contact local police or NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678 immediately.

Thank you for your partnership in keeping our students safe online and offline.

Jean Barbanente, Ed.D.
District 88 Superintendent