The Financial Sextortion of Teens
1 in 3 American teenage boys has been targeted by sextortion schemes.
Episode 22 — Anti–money-laundering expert Alison Jimenez joins Erin West to discuss the rapidly growing crisis of financial sextortion targeting teenage boys. Alison breaks down the crime of sextortion, the financial infrastructure, and the regulatory landscape.
Whether you’re a parent, work in financial services, or care about protecting children online, this episode provides crucial information about one of the fastest-growing crimes affecting American teens today. Alison shares actionable steps for parents, including privacy controls, parental notifications, and how to talk to your kids about this threat.
Once they get that intimate image of the teenage boy, they immediately go to blackmailing the child under the threat of releasing the image. — Alison Jimenez
Watch now or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and other major podcast platforms.
What You’ll Learn about Sextortion
Financial sextortion schemes target teenage boys through social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat
Scammers use peer-to-peer payment apps (Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, Apple Pay) and gift cards to extract money from victims
The cryptocurrency trail: how money moves from U.S. victims to criminal organizations in Nigeria and West Africa
Red flags parents should watch for in their teens’ payment apps
Why “safety by design” matters for financial products targeting minors
Practical steps financial institutions can take to make these schemes more difficult to run
Key Takeaways for Parents
Most payment apps automatically enroll teens in services like Zelle without opt-out options.
Scammers typically demand around $300 per victim using peer-to-peer payments or specific gift cards.
The crime moves quickly: Initial contact to blackmail can happen in minutes or hours.
Only 10%–20% of scammers actually share images if victims don't pay, but the psychological harm is severe.
Who Is Alison Jimenez?
President of Dynamic Securities Analytics, Inc., Alison K. Jimenez utilizes her extensive background in the financial services industry to consult and provide expert witness testimony on complex matters involving financial crime, fraud, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML). Multiple federal agencies, including the DOJ, DOD, GAO, and DHS have sought her expertise in illicit finance. Read her full bio.
Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Sextortion and Financial Crime
04:31 Alison Jimenez's Journey in Financial Crime
07:49 Understanding the Mechanics of Sextortion
12:10 The Experience of Victims in Sextortion
17:00 Financial Aspects of Sextortion
21:20 Targeting Teenage Boys: A New Perspective
22:13 The Financial Demands of Sextortion
24:05 Money Movement and Cryptocurrency in Sextortion
29:06 The Legwork of Law Enforcement in Crypto Crimes
30:52 Escalation of Financial Extortion Crimes
31:38 FinCEN’s Role in Combating Financial Crimes
33:16 Safety by Design: Protecting Minors in Financial Transactions
38:24 Understanding Scammers’ Tactics and Gift Card Requests
40:02 Reddit as a Resource for Victims
42:18 The Impact of Non-Payment on Victims
44:43 Reception and Recommendations for Financial Institutions
46:15 Future Directions in Financial Crime Prevention
More Resources about Sextortion of Teens
ESPN Article: Sextortion increasingly ensnares young athletes
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
The nation’s centralized reporting system for the online exploitation of children.
A program that connects families to others who have experienced the crisis of a sexually exploited child.
Financial Sextortion Resources from Alison Jimenez
Information for financial institutions, law enforcement, educators, parents, and victims.
Stolen Podcast Sponsors
BioCatch helps prevent financial crime by recognizing patterns in human behavior, continuously collecting 3,000 anonymized data points – keystroke and mouse activity, touch screen behavior, physical device attributes, and more – as people interact with their digital banking platforms. With these inputs, BioCatch's models reveal patterns that distinguish the criminal from the legitimate.
Scamnetic is a leader in AI-powered scam detection and prevention, protecting individuals, businesses, and financial institutions from digital scams. With solutions like KnowScam and IDeveryone, Scamnetic delivers real-time scam insights, identity verification, and intervention. Restoring trust, reducing losses, and empowering organizations to safeguard customers in an increasingly complex digital world.
Recent Episodes of Stolen
