ATIKOKAN – Ontario Provincial Police are looking for a male connected to alleged sextortion fraud involving youths.
Provincial police in Atikokan, along with investigators in Elgin County and members of the Canadian Border Service Agency, collaborated on a seven-month investigation that identified Gbolahan Khalid Afinmo, 21, as a suspect.
Afinmo, who is originally from Nigeria, was living in Gatineau, Quebec, at the time and was benefitting from the scam, the OPP said in a release Monday.
Police said they were reaching out to the public for more information as Afinmo's whereabouts are not known.
Despite not being in custody, the accused is charged with possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.
Speaking with Constable Jason Lortie with the OPP, he said youth in the area aren't the only ones being targeted, "This victim is just one of the numerous victims from all detachments and areas. Youths are particularly vulnerable because of their age."
Lortie continued that this case has several layers, as the suspects are typically located internationally, "Most often, the people perpetrating the scam are located outside of the country. They find young people on a social media platform like Snapchat. Once there is some trust, the scammer convinces the young person to friend them on a different social media platform like Instagram that shows their friend list. The perpetrator turns the conversation sexual, and eventually, compromising pictures are exchanged."
The constable explained that once that happens, the conversation usually becomes hostile, and the scammer will threaten to share the photos with the victims' friends and family unless they pay.
"It's the money mules that receive the cash within Canada that the OPP are able to track with appropriate judicial authorization digitally," says Lortie.
While sometimes victims are duped into providing money for a legitimate cause, often it’s like-minded scammers who have some kind of interest in participating.
Police and other online safety agencies are reminding the public to be safe when using social media sites and not to "friend" anyone not known to them. This case also serves as a good reminder that anything sent online is never completely private, the OPP said.
Those that have been victims of a similar scam are encouraged to contact police or Crime Stoppers as it is possible to identify and charge people participating in these offences.
