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DENVER - The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is sounding the alarm over a surge in financial sextortion schemes that are targeting teenage boys at unprecedented levels, often with devastating consequences.

Callahan Walsh, son of child safety advocates John and Revé Walsh and a key leader at NCMEC, says the surge in cases is unlike anything they’ve seen.

"We saw a massive shift in sextortion after COVID," Walsh told Fox News Digital. "Teenage boys were now being targeted at a much higher rate for financial gain, often by overseas criminal enterprises."

These predators often pose as peers on gaming platforms and social media apps, Walsh explained, luring boys into sharing explicit images. The second

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