"I think this is the worst scam in the world," said Paul Raffile, a sextortion and cybercrime researcher based in Connecticut. "There is no other scam that involves targeting children, coercing them into a sexually compromising situation, exploiting them, blackmailing them. There's no other scams that I think even compare to this."
Adele Zeynep Walton’s sibling Aimee was a talented artist who loved music. It was only after her death that Walton realised Aimee had been lured into a dangerous community – and that others may also be victims of it
Detectives found a "suicide kit" in the family's Southampton home, containing various poisons, pills and other things Vlad had bought after joining the chat group.
"He's researched and understood, and been told where to buy these things and what to buy," says DS Chris Barrow from Hampshire Police. "So, without the website, Vlad wouldn't have been able to put together this set of items and ingredients with which to take his own life."
The teenager sentenced to six years in prison for crimes including encouraging suicide and possessing terrorist materials and indecent images of children was part of an international online network promoting neo-Nazi and satanist beliefs, who film and share acts of extreme violence.
'Let’s be real for a minute. When was the last time you asked a mate not just how they were doing but, you know, how they were really doing? You know what it’s like.
Your mate is struggling but you’re not quite sure what the right thing to do or say is. It can be tempting to brush it off and not ask in case things get awkward.'
Videos and resources for young adults on subject of self harm and suicide
Chatbot versions of the teenagers Molly Russell and Brianna Ghey have been found on Character.ai - a platform which allows users to create digital versions of people.
Molly Russell took her life at the age of 14 after viewing suicide material online while Brianna Ghey, 16, was murdered by two teenagers in 2023.
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