Sextortion: prepare and respond
The pattern, the conversation before it happens, and the exact steps if it does.
What sextortion looks like
Sextortion is when someone threatens to share sexual images of a minor unless paid or given more images. In 2026, most cases targeting US teens follow this pattern:
- A stranger (usually a woman, often fake) messages a teen boy on Snap, Instagram, or a game.
- A flirty conversation moves quickly.
- The stranger sends a partial nude and asks for one in return.
- Once the teen sends one, the stranger reveals they are part of a scam operation and demands payment (often via gift cards or crypto).
- The teen pays. More demands follow.
Increasingly, no real image is needed — AI-generated deepfake nudes are used to make the threat believable.
How common this actually is
Parents often assume this is rare. It is not, and the numbers moved sharply while this guide sat unrevised.
- NCMEC received more than 50,000 reports of financially motivated sextortion in 2025 — an average of 137 a day, and a 37% rise on the roughly 36,000 reported in 2024.
- Reports to the CyberTipline involving generative AI reached about 67,000 in 2024, up 1,325% from roughly 4,700 the year before.
- Around one in 17 teenagers says they have been targeted by an AI-generated deepfake. Free “nudify” tools can strip clothing from an ordinary school or social-media photo in seconds.
- The FBI has linked this pattern of schemes to more than a dozen deaths by suicide among young people.
The reason to know the scale is not to frighten anyone. It is that your child is far more likely to believe “this happens to a lot of people and it is survivable” if you can say so with numbers behind it.
The single most important thing to tell your kid — before it happens
“If anyone ever sends you an image like that, or threatens you over one, come to me. I will not be angry. I will help you. We will solve it together. This is how these people work — they count on you being too embarrassed to tell.”
If it has already happened
- Don’t pay. Payment almost never ends the threats.
- Preserve evidence. Screenshot the profile, conversation, any dollar amounts — before blocking.
- Block and stop responding.
- Use NCMEC Take It Down at takeitdown.ncmec.org. The service assigns a hash to the image and asks participating platforms to take it down whenever it appears.
- Report to the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org.
- Report to the FBI via ic3.gov and local law enforcement. Sextortion is a federal crime.
- Support your kid mentally. Shame and isolation are the real wounds. Loop in a counselor if needed.
Preventive settings
Common questions
What does sextortion actually look like?
A recognisable pattern: a stranger, usually presenting as a girl, messages a teenage boy on Snapchat, Instagram or in a game. The conversation turns flirtatious quickly. They send a partial nude and ask for one back. The moment he sends one, the demand for payment starts — usually gift cards or crypto — and paying only produces more demands.
Can this happen if my child never sent an image?
Yes. Increasingly no real image is needed at all, because AI-generated deepfake nudes make the threat believable on their own. “They cannot have anything on me” is no longer a reliable defence.
What is the single most important thing to say before it happens?
“If anyone ever sends you an image like that, or threatens you over one, come to me. I will not be angry, I will help you, and we will solve it together. This is how these people work — they count on you being too embarrassed to tell.” The whole scam depends on that embarrassment.
It has already happened. What do we do first?
Do not pay — payment almost never ends the threats. Preserve evidence by screenshotting the profile, the conversation and any amounts demanded, before you block. Then block and stop responding, and use NCMEC’s Take It Down at takeitdown.ncmec.org, which hashes the image and asks participating platforms to remove it wherever it appears.
Who should we report sextortion to?
The CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org, the FBI at ic3.gov, and local law enforcement — sextortion is a federal crime. Then attend to your child: shame and isolation are the real injuries here, and involving a counsellor is often warranted.
Can any tool prevent this?
Bark and Canopy can detect and intervene before an image is sent, and private accounts with friends-only DMs narrow the opening. But the most protective measure is not a setting — it is your child believing they can tell you without consequence.