![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/21123274-6265-4b67-98c6-e62ecbd376dc.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOn Tuesday, T\u00edr-na-nOg GAA warned that \u201cyoung people are being targeted\u201d. <\/p>\n
It followed a report that a young person in the community received a blackmail threat involving AI-generated images, with the sender demanding payment to prevent their release.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wish to make our young people and parents aware of a young person who has been targeted in the community,\u201d the club said. <\/p>\n
\u201cSexual images were sent using AI with the young persons face on an AI body with a blackmail threat of sharing the image online if money was not paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club said that \u201cthe age of AI meant these images were very realistic\u201d. <\/p>\n
“A list of the young persons friends on social media was also sent to the young person.\u201d <\/p>\n
Police was contacted after the young person alerted their parents. <\/p>\n
\u201cThankfully the young person targeted was very sensible and immediately alerted their parents,\u201d the post added. <\/p>\n
“Police have been contacted and have asked for local clubs and schools to alert parents and young people.\u201d <\/p>\n
We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.<\/p>\n
Please review your details and accept them to load the content<\/p>\n
The PSNI said that it received a report on Tuesday of online blackmail which took place at around 11.40pm on Monday, January 5. <\/p>\n
Neighbourhood Inspector Gary McCullough added: \u201cOur officers recently spoke to young people on the topic of online blackmail, including scammers and spam, advising them to tell their parents or guardians.<\/p>\n
“We take all reports of this nature seriously and investigate them thoroughly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnquiries are ongoing in relation to this recent report and anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 10 of 06\/01\/26.\u201d <\/p>\n
The club also issued guidance to parents and young people on how to protect themselves online. <\/p>\n
In their advice to young people the club said: \u201c1. It\u2019s not your fault. Being targeted, bullied or harassed online is never your fault, no matter what someone says.<\/p>\n
\u201c2. Don\u2019t reply or react. Responding can make it worse. Bullies often want attention or a reaction.<\/p>\n
\u201c3. Save the evidence. Take screenshots of messages, comments, usernames, dates and times. Don\u2019t delete them.<\/p>\n
\u201c4. Block and report. Use the platform\u2019s block and report tools straight away.<\/p>\n
\u201c5. Tell a trusted adult. This could be a parent, guardian, teacher, coach, or youth worker. You don\u2019t have to deal with it alone.<\/p>\n
\u201c6. Protect your privacy. Set your accounts to private. Do not share your telephone number, location or school on your social media accounts. Only accept people you actually know.\u201d <\/p>\n
The club urged young people to look after their wellbeing by taking \u201cbreaks from social media if needed\u201d.<\/p>\n
They also advised parents to \u201cstay calm and listen\u201d if their child is targeted and issued the following guidance for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour child needs reassurance, not panic. Thank them for telling you,\u201d the advice continued. <\/p>\n
\u201c2. Collect evidence. Screenshots are crucial, especially if schools, clubs, or the police need to be involved.<\/p>\n
\u201c3. Report on the platform. Most platforms take harassment of minors seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201c4. Adjust privacy and safety settings together. This keeps your child involved and empowered, rather than feeling punished.<\/p>\n
\u201c5. Inform the school or club. If the child knows the person offline, schools and organisations can often intervene.\u201d <\/p>\n
Finally the club urged parents to contact police if there were threats of violence, sexual content involving a minor, blackmail or coercion or a hate crime or stalking. <\/p>\n
The PSNI also issued online safety advice in relation to online blackmail. <\/p>\n
“Don\u2019t get lured or pushed into compromising situations,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
“Trust your gut, and end uncomfortable situations immediately. Always remember that what goes online may well stay online.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe wary about whom you invite or accept invitations from on social networking sites. Do not accept friendship requests from complete strangers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Portadown GAA club has issued a warning to parents about AI generated \u201csexual images\u201d.<\/p>\n
News Catch Up – Wednesday 7 January <\/p>\n
\u201cUpdate the privacy settings on your social networking accounts so only people you know can view your account. Do not include any sensitive or private information in profiles.\u201d <\/p>\n
For further information and details of organisations who can help, visit www.psni.police.uk\/sextortion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Tuesday, T\u00edr-na-nOg GAA warned that \u201cyoung people are being targeted\u201d. It followed a report that a young…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357222,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,39107,733,4308,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-357221","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-armagh-news","10":"tag-artificial-intelligence","11":"tag-artificialintelligence","12":"tag-technology","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357221\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}