FBI warns AI 'sextortion' has risen by more than 1,000% in the US

The government is warning Americans about the rise in AI 'sextortion' that is sweeping the nation - and the attack has caused at least a 20 suicides in recent years.

Sextortion is when an offender convinces the victim to send sexually explicit pictures of videos and then threatens - and the criminal threatens to release them to the public if they do not receive more content or money.

However, these attacks are being combined with AI, giving offenders tools to create attractive personas and generate convincing conversations. 

These attacks have risen 1,000 percent in the last 18 months, according to the Network Contagion Research Institute, driven by West African gangs who target young people on Instagram, Snapchat and Wizz.