When bots become predators: Australia must treat sextortion as a national safety issue

Australia is waking up to a nasty evolution in online crime: criminal gangs are using automated tools to target young men and boys in sexual extortion schemes, and the harm is real and growing. Recent reporting shows offenders have used bots and other digital tricks to ensnare victims, with more than $200,000 reported stolen from people in a single state. That figure is a blunt indicator of the financial cost; the psychological damage, shame and long-term consequences for victims are harder to measure but no less serious. Sextortion is not a new phenomenon, but automation scales it in ways our institutions are still catching up with. Where once a predator might cultivate a single false identity, bot-driven campaigns can run thousands of fake profiles, flood social platforms with enticements and then apply coordinated pressure when victims are lured into intimate exchanges. Young men and boys – who are too often invisible in conversations framed around sexual violence – are being deliberately targeted. Stigma and embarrassment can delay reporting, and that leaves perpetrators free to repeat and expand their operations. For the ordinary Australian family, this should matter for a few straightforward reasons. First, the financial risk is tangible. Hundreds of thousands of dollars lost in scams in just one state shows the potential for ruin at a household level. Second, the emotional fallout can affect schooling, work and relationships; victims may withdraw from social life and miss out on opportunities. Third, communities need to trust that law enforcement and online platforms are responding effectively. When people believe they are on their own, they change how they use technology – often to their detriment. There are no easy fixes. Tech companies must be pushed to do more to detect and remove networks of fake accounts and to disrupt the infrastructure that powers bot campaigns. That includes accelerated takedowns, faster cooperation with police and better tools to help users verify identities. Law enforcement, in turn, needs the resources and legislative tools to trace and prosecute organised gangs that run these operations. Cybercrime units are stretched; funding and specialist training should reflect the way technology has changed the scale and nature of the threat. Prevention is just as important. Schools, parents and community groups need clear, practical education for young people about privacy, consent and how to spot grooming tactics – and that education must speak to boys as well as girls. Help services must be accessible and destigmatised so victims feel safe coming forward. Financial institutions should have clearer pathways to pause or reverse transactions linked to sextortion, and victims must be aware of their options. Finally, the public conversation must shift. Sextortion targeting young men should not be treated as an embarrassing outlier that communities whisper about. It is an organised criminal activity exploiting digital economies and human vulnerability. Tackling it requires a mix of smart tech policy, well‑resourced policing and community education. The clock is ticking every time a bot profile is created; governments, platforms and the community need to move faster than the machines that are turning intimacy into a revenue stream for criminals.