Teenage boys targeted in five separate online sextortion cases

Police are investigating five separate sextortion incidents involving teenage boys in East Renfrewshire.

Officers said five male victims aged between 12 and 17 had reported being targeted by financial blackmailers online in recent weeks.

Ch Insp Paul Daley said a probe was ongoing, but urged others who may have been affected not to be "embarrassed or scared" about reporting it.

He added: "People shouldn't panic. We want people to know they will be treated with respect and dignity and the circumstances investigated professionally."

The BBC understands a number of social media platforms were used to target the boys including Instagram and TikTok.

It is also understood officers are not ruling out whether the perpetrators were from abroad.