Sextortion is one of the fastest-growing crimes against children. NCMEC received 1.4 million reports of online enticement, the category that includes sextortion, in 2025, up 158% from 2024. Financial sextortion reports averaged 137 a day. In a 2025 survey, 1 in 5 teens said they had been sextorted.
These are the most recent figures from NCMEC, the FBI and Thorn, with what each one measures and what it can’t tell you.
Fast Facts: Sextortion Statistics 2026
- NCMEC’s CyberTipline received 21.3 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2025.[1]
- The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 75,000 sextortion complaints in 2025.[3]
- 90% of victims in NCMEC financial sextortion reports were boys ages 14 to 17.[4]
- LGBTQ+ teens were twice as likely as other teens to have been sextorted, 36% compared with 18%.[2]
- NCMEC knows of at least three dozen teenage boys in the U.S. who took their lives after being sextorted.[1]
If a child is being threatened right now
- Don’t pay and don’t send anything more.[5] Save the evidence, then block.
- Report the exploitation of a child to NCMEC’s CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org or 1-800-843-5678.
- Use Take It Down (takeitdown.ncmec.org) to help stop sexual images of anyone under 18 from spreading.
- If your child is talking about suicide or self-harm, call or text 988, any hour.
- If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911.
How Many Sextortion Reports Are There?
NCMEC counts sextortion under online enticement, which also includes adults grooming children for sexual contact. The numbers have climbed steeply:
Part of the 2025 jump reflects the REPORT Act of 2024, which expanded what online platforms must report to NCMEC.[1][6] Within the total, NCMEC averaged 137 financial sextortion reports a day in 2025, a 37% increase over 2024.[1]
The FBI’s figures tell the same story. From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received more than 13,000 reports of financial sextortion of minors, involving at least 12,600 victims.[7] In 2025, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 75,000 sextortion complaints from people of all ages and referred more than 5,700 involving minors to NCMEC.[3]
Who Is Targeted?
Teen boys, for money. In an analysis of NCMEC reports, 90% of financial sextortion victims were boys ages 14 to 17, and more than two-thirds of sextortion reports appeared to be financially motivated.[4]
Many more teens than the reports show. Thorn surveyed 1,200 young people ages 13 to 20 in late 2024:[2]
- 20% of teens said they had personally been sextorted.
- 24% of all respondents said it happened before they turned 18.
- 21% of teens knew someone else it had happened to.
- 36% of LGBTQ+ teens had been sextorted, twice the rate of other teens (18%).
Adults too. The FBI’s complaint data covers every age:[3]
| Age | Sextortion complaints, 2025 | Reported losses |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 | 11,316 | $1,297,653 |
| 20 to 29 | 22,061 | $7,282,686 |
| 30 to 39 | 11,855 | $8,063,178 |
| 40 to 49 | 7,791 | $6,507,936 |
| 50 to 59 | 5,139 | $6,186,794 |
| 60 and older | 6,121 | $14,894,547 |
Complaints from people 60 and older were fewer, but their reported losses were the highest, nearly $15 million.[3] If you or an older relative got a threatening email from a stranger, the sextortion email scam guide explains how to tell whether it’s a bluff.
What Offenders Demand
In Thorn’s survey, people who were sextorted said they were asked for:[2]
| Demand | Share of victims |
|---|---|
| More sexual images | 39% |
| To meet in person | 31% |
| To stay in or return to a relationship | 25% |
| Money | 22% |
Boys were mainly targeted for money, and girls more often for more images.[2]
Where Sextortion Starts
- Instagram and Snapchat were the most common platforms where first contact happened, and about 1 in 10 reports that named a first platform mentioned Omegle or Wizz.[4]
- Conversations often moved to a second app, most often Snapchat or Google Chat.[4]
- The most common payment methods were CashApp and gift cards.[4]
- 47% of reports showed ties to Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire.[4] The FBI also points to Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.[8]
- Meta said in July 2024 that it had removed about 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria attempting financial sextortion.[9]
Sextortion and Suicide
The FBI linked at least 20 suicides to financial sextortion of minors between October 2021 and March 2023.[7] By 2025, NCMEC knew of at least three dozen teenage boys in the U.S. who had taken their lives after being victimized.[1] Among NCMEC reports that described the impact on the victim, 1 in 6 mentioned thoughts of suicide or self-harm.[4] In Thorn’s survey, 15% of people who had been sextorted said they harmed themselves afterward.[2]
If someone you know is struggling, call or text 988, any hour.[10]
The Role of AI
NCMEC received more than 400,000 reports with a generative AI connection in 2025, including 182,000 that involved AI being used to create child sexual abuse material.[1] The FBI warns that criminals use AI tools to make fake sexual images of victims to demand payment, so sextortion no longer requires a real photo.[11]
What the Numbers Don’t Show
- Reports aren’t victims. One child can appear in several reports, and many cases are never reported at all. The FBI notes that shame and fear keep many victims from asking for help.[3]
- Reporting rules changed. The REPORT Act widened what platforms must report, so part of the recent rise reflects better reporting, not only more crime.[1]
- Surveys and reports measure different things. Thorn’s survey asks young people directly, which captures cases never reported to anyone.[2]
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Frequently Asked Questions
How common is sextortion?
Very. In Thorn’s 2025 survey, 1 in 5 teens said they had been sextorted, and NCMEC averaged 137 financial sextortion reports a day in 2025.[2][1]
Who are the most common victims of sextortion?
For financial sextortion, teen boys: 90% of victims in NCMEC reports were boys ages 14 to 17. LGBTQ+ teens report sextortion at twice the rate of other teens.[4][2]
How many sextortion cases are reported each year?
NCMEC received 1.4 million online enticement reports in 2025, and the FBI received more than 75,000 sextortion complaints.[1][3]
Where do most sextortion cases come from?
Instagram and Snapchat are the most common starting points. Many offenders operate from Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, and the FBI also points to Southeast Asia.[4][8]
Related Guides
- Sextortion: what it is and what to do in the first hour
- Financial sextortion of teen boys: a parent guide
- How to report sextortion
- Deepfake nudes: what parents should know
- How predators find kids online
- Human trafficking statistics 2026
Sources
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (2026). CyberTipline Data: 2025 CyberTipline Report.
- Thorn. (2025, June 24). Sexual Extortion & Young People.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2026). 2025 IC3 Annual Report.
- Thorn & National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (2024, June 24). Trends in Financial Sextortion: An Investigation of Sextortion Reports in NCMEC CyberTipline Data.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). Sextortion.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). Child Sex Trafficking.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2024, January 16). The Financially Motivated Sextortion Threat.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Financially Motivated Sextortion.
- Meta. (2024, July 24). Combating Financial Sextortion Scams From Nigeria.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. (n.d.). 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2024, December 3). Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud (Alert No. I-120324-PSA).