Friday, August 16, 2013

REPORT:TEEN SUICIDE OVER WEB BLACKMAIL SCAM

London (CNN) - Reports that a Scottish teenager took his own life after becoming the victim of an alleged Internet blackmail scam have heightened concerns in Britain over online abuse.

Daniel Perry, from Dunfermline, was reportedly the victim of blackmailers who recorded his interactions via Skype with a person he believed was an American girl his own age.

They then threatened to show his family the footage unless he paid up, UK media reports say. Instead, the 17-year-old jumped from a bridge last month.

News of his death comes on the heels of outrage over the suicide of 14-year-old Hannah Smith, from Leicestershire in England. Her family said she took her own life after she was bullied on the social networking website ask.fm, having gone there to seek advice on the skin condition eczema.

Her funeral was held Friday at St. Mary's Church in her hometown of Lutterworth.

The mourners were asked by Hannah's father to wear brightly colored clothes, not black, the church's vicar, the Rev. Charlie Styles, said in an online statement beforehand.

Styles said the informal service would "provide a focal point for the community in a time of shock and great sadness."

Daniel was also taunted and urged to kill himself by trolls on the Ask.fm website, The Daily Telegraph newspaper said.

The Telegraph quoted Daniel's mother, Nicola, on Friday as saying the people behind the video scam he fell prey to are "clever and dangerous" and had manipulated the footage.

"He wasn't doing anything wrong, just what anyone his age might do, but this scam is all about exploiting young people," she said.

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