Snap adds new warnings and region blocks to address teen ‘sextortion’ scams

Jun 27, 2024 12:50 AM - 4 months ago 53611

Snap is rolling retired aggravated caller protections for teenagers’ Snapchat accounts successful an effort to “address a increasing inclination of blase sextortion scams.” Among them are caller warnings and automatic friend petition blocks targeting accounts that whitethorn beryllium bad actors.

The features are aimed astatine stemming nan tide of sextortion scams, nan institution writes successful a blog station astir nan changes. The scams, successful which bad actors frighten teens and children that they will uncover sexually definitive photos of them unless they salary a ransom or nonstop much specified material, is simply a increasing problem that “has resulted successful an alarming number of deaths by suicide,” according to nan FBI. The bureau writes connected its tract that moreover erstwhile nan scammers are paid, they will often merchandise nan materials anyway.

To extremity scammers, Snap says it will now show a informing connection successful nan app erstwhile teens person a connection from personification that others person blocked aliases reported, aliases erstwhile that person’s relationship is from a “region wherever nan teen’s web isn’t typically located.” The informing presents options to study aliases artifact nan person, aliases conscionable pat “Okay” to chat pinch them. Before this, nan disclaimer would show up for accounts that don’t stock communal friends pinch you aliases aren’t associated pinch personification successful your contacts.

The Snapchat app will besides “prevent transportation of a friend petition altogether” erstwhile it comes from an relationship pinch nary communal friends aliases that “has a history of accessing Snapchat successful locations often associated pinch scamming activity.” Snap says these are each imaginable signs of scammy activity.

Image: Snap

The sextortion rumor isn’t conscionable constricted to Snapchat. It’s peculiarly been an rumor arsenic AI has enabled group to quickly and easy make clone nudes of others. Warnings for illustration these whitethorn not extremity it entirely, but companies person to do thing to woody pinch nan issue, peculiarly arsenic governments progressively push to regulate societal media, ostensibly to protect children.

In summation to nan caller friend petition warnings, Snap is besides trying to explain its location sharing settings. It’s moving them each to 1 location truthful that users tin “see precisely which friends they are sharing their location with, update their location settings, and region their location from nan map.” As shown successful nan image above, that intends you tin take to stock your location pinch each of your friends, each isolated from circumstantial ones, aliases only definite friends. The institution besides says it’s adding “more predominant reminders” of who users are sharing their location info with.

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