If someone is threatening to share sexual images of your child unless they pay or send more, don’t pay and stop responding. Block the account without deleting anything, then report it to NCMEC’s CyberTipline and the FBI.[1][2][3]
Your child is the victim of a crime and is not in trouble. Help is free and available around the clock. Paying rarely stops the blackmail, but the FBI says law enforcement can.[4][5][2]
Fast Facts About Sextortion
- NCMEC received an average of 137 reports of financial sextortion a day in 2025, a 37% increase over 2024.[6]
- The FBI says financial sextortion victims are typically boys ages 14 to 17, but any child can be targeted.[2]
- Paying rarely stops the blackmail, and offenders sometimes share images even after being paid.[1][2]
- NCMEC’s Take It Down is a free service that helps remove explicit images taken before age 18, and the image never leaves your device.[7]
- Victims should never have to pay for help. The FBI warns about companies that charge sextortion victims for “assistance.”[4][8]
If your child is in danger right now
- If your child is thinking about suicide or feels there is no way out, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Stay with them.
- Call 911 if there is an immediate threat to anyone’s safety.
- Report to the NCMEC CyberTipline: report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.
- Report to the FBI: tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.
What to Do in the Next Hour
These steps come from FBI and NCMEC guidance. Work through them together with your child if you can.
- Tell your child they are not in trouble. The FBI says a young person being sextorted is not the one breaking the law, even if they were on an app they were too young for, felt okay making some of the content, or accepted money or game credits.[4]
- Don’t pay and don’t send anything more. NCMEC says cooperating or paying rarely stops the blackmail.[1] The FBI adds that offenders often release images whether or not they are paid.[4]
- Stop responding. The FBI urges targets to cut off contact.[3] Don’t negotiate, plead, or threaten back.
- Report the account on the app, then block it. Use the platform’s safety feature to report the account, then block it from contacting your child.[2]
- Keep the evidence. NCMEC says to block the suspect but not to delete the profile or messages.[1] The FBI says saved messages and profiles can help identify the offender.[2] Write down usernames, the apps used, payment requests, and dates. Don’t forward or re-share any explicit images.
- Report to NCMEC and the FBI. Details are in the next section.
- Start image removal. If images were taken before your child turned 18, use Take It Down.[7]
- Stay close. The FBI says victims often feel scared, alone, embarrassed, anxious, and desperate, and many feel there’s no way out.[4] Keep checking in over the next several days.
How to Report Sextortion
You can report to more than one place. NCMEC says most questions on the CyberTipline form are not required, so you don’t need every detail before you report.[5]
| Where | How to reach it | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| NCMEC CyberTipline | report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678 | Reporting child sexual exploitation, available 24/7[5] |
| FBI | tips.fbi.gov, 1-800-CALL-FBI, or your local field office | Reporting the crime so agents can investigate[4] |
| FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center | ic3.gov | Online reporting of internet crime[8] |
| Local police | Call your local department, or 911 in an emergency | Local response and safety[4] |
| Take It Down | takeitdown.ncmec.org | Removing explicit images taken before age 18[7] |
| StopNCII | stopncii.org | Removing intimate images of adults 18 and older[4] |
How Take It Down Works
You select the image or video on your own device. The tool creates a “hash,” or digital fingerprint, and only that fingerprint goes to NCMEC. The image itself is not uploaded.[7]
Participating platforms use the fingerprint to find and remove matching copies on their public or unencrypted services. The service is free and can be used anonymously. NCMEC notes that platforms may have limited ability to remove content that was posted in the past.[7]
Watch Out for Paid “Recovery” Services
The FBI has warned about for-profit companies that charge sextortion victims high fees for help that law enforcement and nonprofits provide for free.[8] Warning signs include:[8]
- A company contacting you out of the blue to offer help
- Payment required before any service is provided
- Pressure to sign a contract
- Discouraging you from contacting law enforcement
- High-pressure or scare tactics
- Claims of ties to government or law enforcement
What Financial Sextortion Looks Like
Sextortion is blackmail using sexual images. NCMEC says offenders use it to get more sexual content, to coerce a child into sexual activity, or to get money.[9]
In financial sextortion, the offender gets an explicit image from a child and then threatens to release it unless the child sends money or gift cards.[4] The FBI says it can happen in as little as five minutes.[2]
How It Typically Starts
The FBI describes a common pattern:[2]
- A friendly message on social media, a game, a gaming console, or a messaging app, often from a profile that looks like a teenage girl
- An account with few followers that looks new, or one that was hacked or copied to look like someone the child knows
- A request to move to a platform with video calling
- A request for explicit images or video, sometimes after the offender sends explicit material first
The FBI’s own example opens with a message about loving gaming.[2] The guide to the signs of online grooming explains how trust-building works when it unfolds more slowly.
How the Threats Work
According to the FBI, demands usually begin right after the first image is sent. Offenders threaten to send it to family, friends, followers, or the child’s school, and may show screenshots of the child’s followers to make the threat feel real.[2]
They demand gift cards, mobile payments, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.[2] Even when a child pays, they often demand more.[3]
It Can Happen Without a Real Image
The FBI says some offenders get a photo of a child’s face and use editing software to combine it with explicit material found online.[2] A fake image is still sextortion, and it should be reported the same way.
Why Teen Boys Are Targeted Most
The FBI says financial sextortion victims are typically boys ages 14 to 17.[2] From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received over 13,000 reports of financial sextortion of minors involving at least 12,600 victims, mostly boys.[3]
The offenders are usually outside the United States, primarily in West African countries such as Nigeria and Ivory Coast or Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines. They are motivated by money.[2]
NCMEC notes that boys may feel especially embarrassed that this happened to them.[9] Shame is what the offender relies on, which is why your calm response matters so much.
Sextortion Reports Keep Rising
In 2025, NCMEC’s CyberTipline received more than 80,000 reports concerning sextortion.[6] Some of the growth in overall enticement reporting reflects a 2024 law, the REPORT Act, that requires online platforms to report enticement.[6]
How to Support Your Child Emotionally
The FBI has linked financial sextortion to an alarming number of suicides among boys. In January 2024, it said it was aware of more than 20 suicide deaths connected to these schemes.[2][3]
That is hard to read. It is also the reason to act the way the FBI and NCMEC recommend: quickly, calmly, and without blame. The FBI says cooperating with the offender rarely stops the blackmail, but law enforcement can.[2]
What to Say
- “You’re not in trouble. The person doing this is committing a crime.”[4]
- “I’m glad you told me. We’ll handle this together.”
- “You don’t have to handle this alone. There are people whose job is to help with exactly this.”
NCMEC’s message to teens is that the blackmailer is the one to blame.[1] The National Child Traumatic Stress Network advises parents to stay calm and make clear the child is not to blame.[10]
Keep the Phone Question Separate
The FBI says kids often don’t tell because they fear getting in trouble or losing access to their phone.[4] Taking the device away as punishment right now can teach them not to come to you next time. You may still need to limit contact with the offender, so frame any changes as protection.
Know the Warning Signs of Suicide
The National Institute of Mental Health lists warning signs that include:[11]
- Talking about wanting to die, feeling great guilt or shame, or being a burden
- Feeling empty, hopeless, or trapped
- Withdrawing from friends or giving away important items
- Extreme mood swings or changes in eating or sleeping
If you see these signs, especially if they are new or getting worse, get help right away. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.[11] The 988 Lifeline is free, confidential, available 24/7, and also supports people who are worried about a loved one.[12]
Plan for the Weeks Ahead
A mental health professional can help your child work through fear and shame. NCTSN recommends support from someone who specializes in child sexual abuse, and notes that children with supportive parents heal more quickly.[10] A therapist directory can help you find one.
How to Lower the Risk Going Forward
The FBI calls information-sharing and open communication the best defense.[4] Its suggestions for parents include:[4]
- Explaining that people can pretend to be anyone online and nothing truly disappears
- Reviewing privacy settings on social media accounts together, since private accounts give offenders less information
- Considering a rule against devices in bedrooms overnight
- Telling your child, often, that your first move will always be to help
NCMEC also suggests helping your child name two or three other trusted adults they can go to.[9] Games are a common starting point, so read about how predators reportedly use Roblox. For app-specific settings, see the Snapchat safety guide, and for the legal side, the Snapchat lawsuit guide. Every topic in this section is gathered at Kids Online Safety.
If You’re an Adult Being Blackmailed Online
The same core steps apply: don’t pay, stop responding, save the messages, and report. The FBI accepts reports at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI, and StopNCII can help remove intimate images of people 18 and older.[4] If the situation is making you think about suicide, call or text 988.[12]
Related Guides
- Kids Online Safety
- Signs of Online Grooming
- Roblox Predators
- Snapchat Safety for Parents
- Discord Safety for Parents
Sources
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). Sextortion.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Financially Motivated Sextortion.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2024, January 16). The Financially Motivated Sextortion Threat.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Sextortion: What Kids and Caregivers Need to Know.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). CyberTipline.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). CyberTipline Data.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). Take It Down.
- Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2023, April 7). For-Profit Companies Charging Sextortion Victims for Assistance and Using Deceptive Tactics to Elicit Payments.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). NetSmartz: Sextortion.
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (2009, April). What to Do If Your Child Discloses Sexual Abuse: Information for Parents and Caregivers.
- National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Warning Signs of Suicide.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. (n.d.). 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.