To report sextortion of anyone under 18, start with NCMEC’s CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678. Then report the account on the app where it happened, tell the FBI, and use Take It Down to help stop the images from spreading. Before you report anything, save the evidence.
The order matters less than doing all of it. Each report reaches a different group of people, and together they give your child the best chance of having the images removed and the person stopped.
Fast Facts About Reporting Sextortion
- After NCMEC reviews a CyberTipline report, it makes the report available to the right law enforcement agency.[3]
- The FBI takes tips at tips.fbi.gov and 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).[4]
- Take It Down helps people remove or stop the sharing of sexual images taken when they were under 18, even if they are adults now.[5]
- Since May 19, 2026, covered platforms must remove intimate images within 48 hours of a valid request, including AI-made fakes.[6][7]
- NCMEC received an average of 137 reports of financial sextortion a day in 2025.[8]
If your child is being threatened right now
- Stop replying and don’t pay. Paying rarely stops the blackmail.[1]
- Save the evidence below, then block the account.
- 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.
Before You Report, Save the Evidence
Reports are far more useful when they include usernames and messages. NCMEC advises blocking the person without deleting the messages.[1] Before you block anyone, capture:
- The profile: the username, display name and profile link or ID, on every app the person used
- The conversation: screenshots of the messages, especially the threat and the demand
- Payment requests: payment app usernames, gift card types and amounts, any account numbers, and receipts if money was sent
- Dates and times: when contact started, when the threat arrived, and any deadlines
Don’t screenshot, save or forward the sexual image itself, even to report it. Possessing or sharing explicit images of a child can be a serious crime, and the people you report to don’t need a copy from you.[9] Describe the image instead. Don’t delete the conversation or the account until law enforcement says it’s fine.[10]
Where to Report Sextortion
| Where | When to use it | How |
|---|---|---|
| NCMEC CyberTipline | Any sextortion of someone under 18 | report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678 |
| FBI | Any case involving a child; adults too | tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI |
| The app or site | Every case | The report button on the profile or message |
| Take It Down | Images taken when the person was under 18 | takeitdown.ncmec.org |
| Local police | Immediate danger or threats of violence | 911 |
1. NCMEC’s CyberTipline
The CyberTipline is the national clearinghouse for reports of child sexual exploitation, including sextortion. Analysts review each report and pass it to the law enforcement agency that can act on it, which matters when the person behind the threat is in another state or country.[3] You can report online at report.cybertip.org or by phone, 24 hours a day, at 1-800-843-5678. NCMEC can also help with getting images removed: email gethelp@ncmec.org.[1]
2. The FBI
Submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.[4] The FBI investigates financial sextortion of minors, much of which is run from outside the United States.[11] If money was lost, you can also file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. It received more than 75,000 sextortion complaints in 2025 and sends the ones involving minors to NCMEC.[12]
3. The App Where It Happened
Report the account using the app’s own tools, from the profile or the message itself. Instagram and Snapchat are the most common places these schemes start, and the person often moves the conversation to a second app, so report it everywhere they contacted your child.[13] If an image was posted, ask the platform to remove it. Under the Take It Down Act, covered platforms must take down intimate images, and known copies, within 48 hours of a valid request.[6][7]
4. Take It Down
Take It Down is NCMEC’s free tool for sexual images taken before age 18. It works from images already on your device and creates a digital fingerprint that participating platforms use to find and remove copies, so the image itself isn’t sent anywhere. It only works on participating platforms that aren’t encrypted.[14]
5. Local Police
Call 911 if anyone is in danger or the person has threatened violence. Local police can also take a report and work with federal investigators.
What to Include in Your Report
The FBI asks people reporting online fraud to include everything that identifies the other person and every payment detail.[15] For sextortion, that means:
- Every username and app the person used
- How the contact started and how it moved between apps
- What was demanded: money, more images, or something else
- Whether anything was paid, how, and how much
- Whether the person says they have posted or shared anything
Reporting When You’re an Adult
Adults are targeted too. People ages 20 to 29 filed more sextortion complaints with the FBI in 2025 than any other age group.[12] If someone is threatening to share intimate images of you:
- File a complaint at ic3.gov and keep the evidence.[12]
- Use StopNCII.org, which creates fingerprints of intimate images so participating platforms can block them.[16]
- Ask any platform hosting the image to remove it under the Take It Down Act.[6]
- If the images were taken when you were under 18, Take It Down can still help.[5]
If the threat came by email from a stranger who claims to have hacked your webcam, it’s almost always a bluff. The sextortion email scam guide explains how to tell.
What Happens After You Report
NCMEC reviews CyberTipline reports and makes them available to law enforcement, which decides whether to investigate.[3] You may not hear back right away, and that doesn’t mean nothing is happening. Keep the evidence, keep the account blocked, and report any new contact.
Be wary of companies that contact you offering to make the images disappear for a fee. The FBI has warned about for-profit firms that charge sextortion victims for help and use deceptive tactics to get paid. NCMEC and Take It Down are free.[17]
Reporting deals with what happened. To lower the chance of it happening again, check which settings let strangers reach your child.
Take the 2-minute Online Safety Check
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I report sextortion to the police or the FBI?
Both are fine, and you should also report it to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. Call 911 if anyone is in danger. Otherwise, report to the CyberTipline and the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, and your local police can take a report too.[2][4]
Will my child get in trouble for sending the image?
NCMEC defines sextortion as a form of child sexual exploitation, and the child being threatened is the victim.[1] Telling your child that clearly makes it easier for them to give you the details a report needs.
Should we pay to make the threats stop?
No. NCMEC says paying rarely stops the blackmail, and people who pay are often asked for more.[1]
How do I get the images taken down?
Ask the platform to remove them; covered platforms must do so within 48 hours of a valid request. Use Take It Down for images taken before age 18, and contact NCMEC at gethelp@ncmec.org for removal help.[6][14][1]
What if my child already deleted the messages?
Report anyway. The usernames, apps and dates you remember still help.
Related Guides
- Sextortion: what it is and what to do in the first hour
- Financial sextortion of teen boys: a parent guide
- Sextortion statistics 2026
- The Take It Down Act
- Sextortion email scams
- How to report human trafficking or child exploitation
Sources
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). Sextortion.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). CyberTipline.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). Online Enticement.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Human Trafficking.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2025, March 6). Violent Online Networks Target Vulnerable and Underage Populations Across the United States and Around the Globe.
- TAKE IT DOWN Act, Pub. L. No. 119-12, 139 Stat. 55 (2025). Public Law 119-12.
- Federal Trade Commission. (2026, May 19). FTC Begins Enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
- National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (2026). CyberTipline Data: 2025 CyberTipline Report.
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice. (2026, October 1). Talking With Parents and Kids About Deepfakes, Online Safety, and the Take It Down Act.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Sextortion: What Kids and Caregivers Need to Know.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Financially Motivated Sextortion.
- 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.). Take It Down.
- 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).
- StopNCII.org. (n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions.
- Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2023, April 7). For-Profit Companies Charging Sextortion Victims for Assistance and Using Deceptive Tactics to Elicit Payments.