Scottish police investigate ‘internet blackmail’ death

Police in Scotland are investigating claims that a teenager killed himself because he was being blackmailed online.

Daniel Perry (17) is thought to have fallen victim to a scam where internet users are lured into webcam chats and then blackmailed with the footage.

The teenager is said to have believed he was talking to an American girl on Skype but was told by blackmailers that the conversations had been recorded and would be shared with friends and family unless he paid up.

Daniel, from Dunfermline in Fife, died on July 15th.

Police Scotland confirmed that officers are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death and urged anyone experiencing cyberbullying to report it. It has also been reported that the teenager had previously been urged to kill himself by anonymous users on the social media website Ask.fm about three months before he died.

The case follows that of 14-year-old Hannah Smith in Leicestershire, who took her own life after she was allegedly bullied online.

The operators of Ask.fm have been criticised for not doing enough to prevent abuse.

Daniel’s mother, who asked not to be named, told newspapers that she wants to make other children and parents aware of the dangers.

She said she wished she could tell him that “nothing is ever that bad that you have to kill yourself” and “that nothing is worth taking your own life over”.

She added that, when she feels strong enough, she wants to do something to prevent this happening to other young people.

PA