Somewhere in Nigeria, a Yahoo boy is about to become famous, and he does not know it yet.

What he does in the dark on his laptop and phone is about to come into the light in a gripping new British Channel 4 documentary.UK musician and actor Jordan Stephens will go to where no victim of online blackmail has ever gone before. Stephens will find and confront the scammer who targeted him.

In Hunting My Sextortion Scammer, Stephens turns investigator, travelling all the way to Nigeria to confront the person who blackmailed him in a shocking case of sextortion.

The documentary, which is part of Channel 4?s Untold series and premieres on June 25, doesn?t just follow Stephens? personal journey, it places a glaring spotlight on a fast-growing form of cybercrime.

Sextortion, according to the UK?s Metropolitan Police, involves criminals using sexual images, videos, or intimate conversations to blackmail victims, often demanding money or other favours to keep the material private.

What makes this documentary particularly timely is that it comes just months after a major international crackdown on sextortion rings. From last year to early 2025, the FBI, working with Nigeria?s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), carried out a joint operation in Nigeria that led to the arrest of 22 individuals linked to a web of online sexual exploitation targeting victims across the globe.

Stephens doesn?t shy away from vulnerability in the film. In fact, he voluntarily walks into a simulated sextortion trap to understand how these scams work?and to make it personal. His goal? Not just to confront the blackmailer, but to understand the machinery of online abuse, and show just how easily anyone can fall prey to it.

The scale of the problem is disturbing. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which monitors and removes online child sexual abuse material, reported in April that children and teenagers are increasingly at risk. Sextortion, once an issue primarily affecting adults, is now a crisis among under-18s. Social media platforms and dating apps have become digital hunting grounds for predators.

Hunting My Sextortion Scammer isn?t your typical celebrity documentary.

It?s raw, risky, and socially urgent. Stephens turns the lens on an issue that has been hidden in shame for far too long. Alongside his journey, the documentary dives into how sextortion rings operate?many with networks spanning continents.

It examines the digital loopholes that allow scammers to hide in plain sight and the challenges authorities face in tackling crimes that cross both virtual and national borders.

The documentary also arrives at a time when discussions around data privacy, online safety, and the mental health impacts of digital abuse are heating up. While many platforms are investing in AI tools to detect explicit content and bots, it?s clear that the human toll and the global nature of the crime demands more than just algorithms. (BusinessDay)

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