It happened to them. It can happen to anyone.

Alicia Kozakiewicz

Age 13 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · Survived

Alicia chatted online for months with someone she thought was a friend. He gained her trust slowly, then convinced her to meet him. On New Year's Day 2002, she walked out of her house to meet him. He was an adult man, and he kidnapped her and took her to his home in Virginia.

Days later, someone who recognized her from missing-child posters tipped off the FBI, and agents rescued her. Her kidnapper went to federal prison. Today Alicia travels the country teaching students about online safety, and she helped pass "Alicia's Law," which funds police teams that fight online crimes against children.

Sources: [9] [10]

Megan Meier

Age 13 · Dardenne Prairie, Missouri

Megan became friends on MySpace with a cute 16-year-old boy named "Josh Evans." Josh was fake. The account was created by the mother of a former friend who lived down the street, with help from others. After weeks of friendly messages, "Josh" suddenly turned cruel, and other people joined in with mean posts. Megan died by suicide in October 2006, weeks before her 14th birthday.

The mother was charged under a federal computer law, but her conviction was overturned because there was no law that clearly fit what she did. Megan's story led Missouri and other states to update their laws to cover online harassment.

If you're struggling, call or text 988.

Sources: [11] [12]

Amanda Todd

Age 15 · British Columbia, Canada

When Amanda was 12, a stranger on a video chat flattered her and convinced her to flash the camera. He secretly captured the image. Later, he used it to blackmail her, demanding more, and when she refused, he sent it to her classmates and made fake online profiles using it. She changed schools several times, but he kept finding her online.

In September 2012, Amanda posted a YouTube video, telling her story with handwritten cards. It has been watched millions of times. She died by suicide that October. In 2022, a Dutch man was convicted in Canada of extortion, harassment and luring her, and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Her mother started the Amanda Todd Legacy Society to teach online safety.

If you're struggling, call or text 988.

Sources: [13]

The "15-year-old boy" with 350 victims

Offender: Lucas Chansler · Victims in 26 U.S. states, Canada and the U.K.

For years, an adult man pretended to be a 15-year-old boy on popular websites to meet teen girls. He persuaded them to show themselves on video chats, which he secretly recorded. Then he threatened to post the recordings unless they sent more.

He was caught after one girl's parents went to the FBI. Investigators linked him to about 350 victims. He was sentenced to 105 years in federal prison, and the FBI asked the public to help identify more victims so they could get support.

Sources: [14]

The Wichita swatting

Victim: Andrew Finch, 28 · Wichita, Kansas · Offender: Tyler Barriss

Two players got into an argument over a Call of Duty match worth a few dollars. One of them dared the other to "swat" him and gave an old address. A man in California made a fake 911 call claiming there was a hostage situation at that address.

Andrew Finch, a father of two who lived there and had nothing to do with the game, stepped outside when police arrived and was shot and killed. The man who made the call was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, one of the longest sentences ever for swatting.

Sources: [26]

Jordan DeMay

Age 17 · Marquette, Michigan

Jordan was a popular high school athlete. A hacked Instagram account pretending to be a teenage girl started messaging him, and convinced him to send an explicit photo. Then the scammers demanded money and threatened to send the photo to his friends and family. Jordan died by suicide on March 25, 2022.

The FBI traced the scheme to two brothers in Lagos, Nigeria. They were brought to the United States, and in 2024 each was sentenced to 17½ years in federal prison. Prosecutors said they had targeted more than 100 other victims. Jordan's family now speaks to students across the country so others know: don't pay, and tell someone.

If you're struggling, call or text 988.

Sources: [15] [3]

Westfield High School deepfakes

Westfield, New Jersey · More than 30 students targeted

Students took ordinary photos of female classmates from social media and used an AI website to turn them into fake nude images, which were then passed around on a messaging app. One of the girls, 14-year-old Francesca Mani, found out when she was called to the principal's office.

At the time, police told families they couldn't find a law that clearly covered AI fakes. Francesca and her mother went to Congress to push for change. In 2025, the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act became law, making it a crime to publish intimate images without consent, including AI-made ones, and requiring apps to remove them within 48 hours.

Sources: [25] [24]

Grooming that started on Roblox

Victim: 11-year-old girl in Michigan · Offender: Ryan Dookhan, New York

A man who worked as a security guard at an elementary school met an 11-year-old girl on Roblox. He moved their chats to a separate messaging app and pressured her into sending sexual images.

Investigators identified him partly because he had sent her a photo of himself wearing a shirt from the school where he worked. In 2026, a federal judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

Sources: [16]