Riley Basford died on March 30 at his father s home in Potsdam, New York
His death came just hours after he was bombarded with online threats as part of a catfishing scam
The teen was targeted by someone who posed as a girl and befriended him, before getting him to send personal photos
The scammer then demanded $3,500 or they would leak the images
Riley s mom said she believes his death came in a split second of madness
The teen had dreams of being an environmental conservationist police officer
New York State Police issued a warning to parents and teenagers, after learning of more than a dozen similar incidents where teens have been targeted online