An online predator — or predators — are stepping up their game in a blackmail scheme targeting area students.  

The latest school district reporting incidents is Greece, which now joins several other districts in Wayne and Monroe Counties, along with Penn Yan and Canandaigua dealing with the problem. Police and security say social media accounts are being used to obtain and share explicit photos of students. In many cases, the predator then uses the images to blackmail the student into sending more.

"Multiple students in the Greece Central School District that have either shared images of themselves, shared them with other people and then those images have either gotten into the hands of someone else and they’ve created, at least it appears at this point, they’ve created multiple different social media accounts and tags," said Sgt. Jared Rene, Greece Police Department.

Several school districts and police agencies are coordinating their efforts to catch the predator. Authorities say the posting and sharing of nude, partially nude or suggestive pictures is not new — but what is new is how the photos are being obtained and disseminated.

"In the most recent events, it’s more targeted where there’s actually an account set up to obtain these photos and by the time that we see them, most of the accounts are shut down. But the damage has obviously been done,” said Greece's Director of Security Steve Chatterton.

Spectrum News has learned several social media accounts are being used to share explicit photos of young people.

"We want them to be cautious and careful out there," says, Investigator Greg Schmitter, New York State Police Major Crimes Unit. 

New York State Police urge students and parents to beware, as investigators look into the possibility that these latest Greece incidents could be connected to similar online predator cases in Canandaigua, Penn Yan and Wayne County, and police say, much of Monroe County.

"Parents have to be checking phones and looking through their kids' photos," says Chatterton. 

Officials urge students to never send or forward any questionable photo or to establish any communication with someone unknown.