A young man appears on the TikTok video, all swagger and gold chains, flashing a wad of $100 bills. Another boasts about how “BM got me a new car” and claims to have made $5,000 in just a few hours.
But these aren’t your regular influencers chasing brand deals or promoting travel content. They’re selling something far more sinister: online blackmail.
They call themselves the BM Boys (“BM” short for blackmail), a group of young Nigerian men who have turned sextortion into a business model. And they’re using social media as both a trap and a megaphone.
Here’s how it works. First, they pose as flirty, attractive young women online. Their targets? Often teenage boys in the United States and other Western countries. The aim is to lure them into sharing explicit photos, which are then used to extort money. If the victim doesn’t pay up, the BM Boys threaten to send the images to friends, family, or post them online. The demands typically range from $500 to $3,000.
It’s a disturbing trend that’s exploding in scale. In 2023 alone, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received over 26,000 reports of financial sextortion, up from just over 10,000 the year before. And tragically, since 2021, at least 46 teen boys across the US, Canada, UK, and Australia have died by suicide after being targeted.
Despite crackdowns, including Meta removed 63,000 related Instagram accounts in 2024, these scammers are adapting fast. Instagram remains their hunting ground, while TikTok is the showroom where they flaunt wealth, recruit apprentices, and trade tips in videos called “BM Updates.”
Yes, there are tutorials. These range from how to write convincing scripts, to using VPNs to appear American, to editing fake news headlines featuring victims’ photos. Some even offer guidance on which fan communities to target — from sports teams to country music followers. It’s a job, and they treat it like one.
Paul Raffile, an expert in online exploitation, explains that this influencer-like approach is a recruitment tactic. The BM Boys show off luxury lifestyles to inspire others to join. Recruits, known as “chatters”, are tasked with initiating conversations using fake accounts. When the money talk starts, the boss steps in to handle the payment side, usually via Cash App, Bitcoin, or gift cards.
It’s chilling how systematic it is. One self-professed blackmailer in Nigeria told The Guardian UK he’s made close to $100,000 through these scams. He’s been doing it for eight years and says he feels no guilt, even after learning some victims have taken their lives.
“I feel nothing when I get the picture,” he said. “I have to survive.”
That lack of remorse is deeply painful for families like the DeMays, whose 17-year-old son Jordan took his life after falling victim. The perpetrators were later arrested and are now serving prison sentences in the US, but the emotional damage is permanent.
Can tech companies stop this? TikTok says it’s working to make its platform “inhospitable” for harmful behavior. Meta has introduced new teen safety features, like private accounts by default and blurred nude images. But experts argue more can be done. Making follower lists inaccessible, tightening search visibility, and flagging suspicious interactions earlier could go a long way.
As Lloyd Richardson from Canada’s Centre for Child Protection puts it: “Teens are impulsive. Sometimes a simple warning isn’t enough. The platforms need to step in.”
Sextortion is becoming a business that thrives on manipulation, secrecy, and social media algorithms. And the cost? Often paid in the lives of young victims.
