UK Police Work With Nigerian Authorities After 16yo Boy 'sextortion' Death

'They killed our son': The devastating impact of sextortion scams as cases soar- Murray Dowey, a 16-year-old from Dunblane, took his own life after he was 'sextorted' by a scammer.- Police Scotland are working with authorities in Nigeria to find the scammers who targeted Murray Dowey from Dunblane, leaving his devastated parents Mark and Ros calling for tougher safeguardsMark and Ros Dowey said their ‘world has been shattered’ since losing their son to suicide in December 2023When Murray Dowey left his parents watching television downstairs to go up to his bedroom he was a happy sixteen-year-old boy.Just hours later, Murray had taken his own life, having become the latest victim of a surge of sextortion cases in the UK.Murray, 16, from Dunblane was contacted on social media by someone claiming to be a young girl but was actually a scammer, who tricked him into sending an intimate image and then blackmailed him with it.Speaking for the first time about their son’s case, Murray’s parents told ITV News their “whole world has been shattered”.At Murray’s local football club, Stirling Albion, where he spent every weekend with his friends, Mark and Ros Dowey said they “don’t want this to happen to any other family” and called on social media platforms to up the safeguarding for teenagers “immediately”.They share their story as ITV News are given exclusive stats that reveal the UK’s only helpline dedicated to helping victims of intimate image abuse received 54% more sextortion reports in 2023, than the previous year.Sextortion, is when intimate images and/or videos are recorded and used for financial exploitation and coercion; It is mostly committed by organised criminal gangs overseas.Reports to The Revenge Porn Helpline doubled last year reaching nearly 19,000, but sextortion made up over a third of those reports, and is the main form of intimate image abuse reported to the helpline – 93% of those cases were reported by men.‘The next thing I heard was Ros screaming, screams like I’ve never heard in my life before’Murray had been enjoying festive celebrations last year with his parents and his two brothers, before going up to his room as normal, but his family “never for a minute thought that was the last time [they] were going to see him.”Ros Dowey, Murray’s mother, said: “That evening we were just chatting and watching rubbish on telly… We were just a normal family of five.“To the next morning, we’re down to four people with a huge Murray-shaped gap that’s never going to go away.“He’s my little boy. To think of my little boy in such distress and not to reach out for help, it’s awful.”Murray took his own life on December 30, 2023, just hours after he was blackmailed by a scammer.Mark Dowey, Murray’s father, said he was “sitting watching the football, next thing I heard was Ros screaming, screams like I’ve never heard in my life before… it was horrendous.”“He was a very normal, easygoing, helpful boy, had a great sense of humour… I can’t believe he’s gone.“One of the reasons it is so devastating as it comes into your house, exactly where Murray should have been safest in his room, asleep. So there’s very little you can do to protect them.”‘We thought we were dealing with suicide… [it was] absolute torture’For two weeks, before police confirmed that Murray had been a victim of sextortion, Mark and Ros were left questioning everything they knew about their son’s mental wellbeing.Ros told us: “He was a normal, happy teenager… he had plans. He had everything to look forward to… he was talking about saving up for a summer holiday with his friends.Mark and Ros Dowey said their ‘world has been shattered’ since losing their son to suicide in December 2023When Murray Dowey left his parents watching television downstairs to go up to his bedroom he was a happy sixteen-year-old boy.Just hours later, Murray had taken his own life, having become the latest victim of a surge of sextortion cases in the UK.Murray, 16, from Dunblane was contacted on social media by someone claiming to be a young girl but was actually a scammer, who tricked him into sending an intimate image and then blackmailed him with it.Speaking for the first time about their son’s case, Murray’s parents told ITV News their “whole world has been shattered”.At Murray’s local football club, Stirling Albion, where he spent every weekend with his friends, Mark and Ros Dowey said they “don’t want this to happen to any other family” and called on social media platforms to up the safeguarding for teenagers “immediately”.They share their story as ITV News are given exclusive stats that reveal the UK’s only helpline dedicated to helping victims of intimate image abuse received 54% more sextortion reports in 2023, than the previous year.Sextortion, is when intimate images and/or videos are recorded and used for financial exploitation and coercion; It is mostly committed by organised criminal gangs overseas.Reports to The Revenge Porn Helpline doubled last year reaching nearly 19,000, but sextortion made up over a third of those reports, and is the main form of intimate image abuse reported to the helpline – 93% of those cases were reported by men.‘The next thing I heard was Ros screaming, screams like I’ve never heard in my life before’Murray had been enjoying festive celebrations last year with his parents and his two brothers, before going up to his room as normal, but his family “never for a minute thought that was the last time [they] were going to see him.”Ros Dowey, Murray’s mother, said: “That evening we were just chatting and watching rubbish on telly… We were just a normal family of five.“To the next morning, we’re down to four people with a huge Murray-shaped gap that’s never going to go away.“He’s my little boy. To think of my little boy in such distress and not to reach out for help, it’s awful.”Murray took his own life on December 30, 2023, just hours after he was blackmailed by a scammer.Mark Dowey, Murray’s father, said he was “sitting watching the football, next thing I heard was Ros screaming, screams like I’ve never heard in my life before… it was horrendous.”“He was a very normal, easygoing, helpful boy, had a great sense of humour… I can’t believe he’s gone.“One of the reasons it is so devastating as it comes into your house, exactly where Murray should have been safest in his room, asleep. So there’s very little you can do to protect them.”‘We thought we were dealing with suicide… [it was] absolute torture’For two weeks, before police confirmed that Murray had been a victim of sextortion, Mark and Ros were left questioning everything they knew about their son’s mental wellbeing.Ros told us: “He was a normal, happy teenager… he had plans. He had everything to look forward to… he was talking about saving up for a summer holiday with his friends.“The panic and terror he must have been in for however long this went on, whether it was minutes or hours, I’m devastated for him, that he was just obviously in such a state that he thought taking his life was the only thing he could do.“We’d had lots of conversations with our boys about online safety [and] social media… you’d never, ever imagine it’s going to hit you because you’re just a ‘normal family’ and these things don’t happen.”Mark said: “We thought we were dealing with suicide… [it was] absolute torture… indeed he did take his own life but he was very much taken to that point by these criminals.”“As parents, were very good at telling kids what not to do, but maybe not so good at telling them what to do if they do do it.“I think that’s something we really need to take away from this, that you need to give them that information, that if they do step over that line, don’t panic. Don’t do what Murray did.”