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 sextortion actually is
Parents often assume this is rare. It is not, and the scale is why the speed and the tone of your first response matter so much — this is a crime that has been linked to deaths by suicide among teenagers.
- NCMEC recorded an average of 137 reports of financial sextortion a day during 2025 — a 37% increase in daily reports on the year before (NCMEC CyberTipline data).
- The CyberTipline received more than 400,000 reports in 2025 with a generative-AI element, of which more than 182,000 involved offenders possessing or attempting to generate AI-made child sexual abuse material (NCMEC).
- One in 17 young people said someone had used technology to create deepfake nudes of them, in Thorn’s survey of 1,200 people aged 13–20, conducted in autumn 2024. Free “nudify” tools can strip clothing from an ordinary school or social-media photo in seconds.
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 sextortion has already happened
- Don’t pay. Payment almost never ends the threats.
- Preserve evidence. Screenshot the profile, username and profile URL, the messages, the payment handles and every amount demanded — before blocking. NCMEC’s advice is to block the suspect but “DO NOT DELETE your profile or messages” (NCMEC).
- Do not copy the image. Never screenshot, save, download or forward a nude or sexual image of your child, even as evidence: federal law prohibits possessing or distributing one (US Department of Justice). Describe it to law enforcement instead — the CyberTipline does not accept attached images and asks you to note in the report that you have them (CyberTipline FAQ).
- Block and stop responding.
- Use NCMEC Take It Down at takeitdown.ncmec.org. The image never leaves the device — NCMEC states that it “remains on your device and is not uploaded”. The tool builds a digital fingerprint, or hash, on the phone or computer itself and sends only that to NCMEC, which shares it with participating platforms so they can find and remove matching copies on their public or unencrypted services. It works on AI-generated images too. It cannot reach private or encrypted services, and NCMEC is explicit that platforms “may have limited capabilities to remove content that has already been posted in the past”.
- Report to the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org. NCMEC is the primary route when the victim is a child, and the FBI’s own IC3 says so directly: “Crimes against children should be filed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”
- Tell local law enforcement or the FBI. The FBI’s sextortion advisory gives 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) and your local FBI field office. Use ic3.gov as well if money was demanded or sent — IC3 is the FBI’s channel for cyber-enabled fraud, and 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 sextortion 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.
Sextortion has already happened. What do we do first?
Do not pay — payment almost never ends the threats. Preserve evidence before you block: screenshot the profile, username and profile URL, the conversation, the payment handles and any amounts demanded. Do not screenshot, save, download or forward any sexual image of your child — federal law prohibits possessing or distributing one, so describe it to law enforcement instead. Then block and stop responding, and use NCMEC’s Take It Down at takeitdown.ncmec.org. The image itself is never uploaded: the tool builds a digital fingerprint on your own device and shares only that with participating platforms, which scan their public and unencrypted services for matches.
Who should we report sextortion to?
The CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org comes first — the FBI’s own IC3 states that crimes against children should be filed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Tell local law enforcement or the FBI (1-800-CALL-FBI or your local field office) as well, and use ic3.gov if money was demanded or sent, since that is the FBI’s channel for cyber-enabled fraud. 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.