Photo courtesy ALERT/buttoutcreeps.ca

By Erika Rolling

ALERT launches “Butt out, Creeps” campaign to raise awareness of online sextortion

Oct 29, 2023 | 10:00 AM

A new online ad campaign has been launched by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s Internet Child Exploitation unit, as there’s a high number of sextortion cases in the province.

The campaign is called “Butt out, Creeps”, and it’s main focus is to raise awareness in the younger generations using social media to learn the signs of sextortion and how to avoid it.

Sextortion is where children, most specifically boys, are coerced into sending explicit images online in hopes of receiving money, e-transfers, or gift cards, and instead are extorted. Predators usually pose as younger girls of a similar age by using fake accounts to target youths.

ALERT worked with DDB Canada to develop and research the program, which has now launched on multiple social media channels and has generated over one million impressions.

Photo courtesy ALERT

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The ads feature a dancing eggplant and peach characters, which can be seen on TikTok, Snapchat, Youtube, online gaming platforms, as well as on the web.

The campaign has the characters singing and dancing, with their messages about not sending explicit pictures over the internet, especially to strangers, through using lingo and phrases to capture the attention of youth.

Photo courtesy ALERT

These ads are targeted at the 10-17 age range, which ALERT’s ICE unit has found to be the primary target of sextortion-type cases.

ALERT ICE says sextortion cases are challenging to investigate, as suspects could be overseas like traditional phone scammers.

In 2022, ICE got almost 3,000 reports of child exploitation, which is said to be a record number in the province with these types of cases increasing by more than 185% in the past five years.

Parents also play a big role in preventing online sextortion and can find resources online at buttoutcreeps.ca.