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Sexual Extortion of Children (Sextortion)
Sextortion is blackmail with nude or sexual pictures or videos. If someone is threatening you, you are not alone, it is not your fault, and you can get help. This page explains what sextortion is, how to stay safe, what to do, and how to report it and get support.
This hidden block holds the styles of this page, the Quick exit button and the phone help bar (Call, Chat, Report, Exit). Do not delete it. The words of the page are in the sections below.
If it is happening now
Four things to do right now
Take a breath. You do not have to solve everything today. Start with these four steps.
If a child is in immediate danger, call the national police hotline on 1288 or contact your local police for help.
Understand
What is sextortion?
Sextortion is a kind of blackmail. Someone threatens to share a nude or sexual picture or video of a child (or of you) unless the child does what they say. They may demand money, more pictures or videos, or sexual acts.
It is a crime, and the child is the victim. It is never your fault, even if you sent a picture yourself. The person who threatens you is the one doing wrong.
Two common kinds
- Sextortion for pictures or sexual acts. The person, who may be an adult or an older teenager, wants more pictures, videos or sexual contact.
- Sextortion for money. Often run by organised groups that contact many young people with fake profiles. They demand bank or wallet transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency. In many countries teenage boys and young men are the most common targets for money, but anyone can be targeted.
How a blackmailer gets a picture
- The child sent it to someone they thought they knew or trusted.
- They were tricked into a video call, and the person recorded it.
- The person says they have hacked an account or a phone. They may not really have anything.
- A fake picture is made with editing or AI tools, so even a child who never sent anything can be threatened.
- Someone close, such as a partner or an ex-partner, uses a private picture to control the child.
What stays the same
Blackmailers rely on fear, shame and speed. They want you to panic and to tell nobody. Blackmailers often stop when they see that you will not pay or obey, and they move on to someone else. Telling someone and getting help takes away their power.
The pattern
How sextortion usually happens
It can start on any app: social media, games, dating apps or chat apps. It can go from a first message to threats within hours. Knowing the pattern helps you spot it early.
What the threats can sound like: “Send me more or I will post your pictures on Facebook.” “Pay now, or I will send this to your family.” “Everyone will see it. Only I can delete it.” If you get messages like these, do not reply. Follow the four steps at the top of this page.
Spot it early
Warning signs
Some signs are in the chat itself. Others show in how a child behaves.
Red flags in a chat
- A new friend or follower you do not know, who already knows a lot about you
- A profile that does not add up: a new account, few posts, photos that look too perfect, answers that do not match
- Strong feelings very fast: flattery, love, “you are so mature”
- Pressure to move to a private app or to a video call
- A request for a nude or sexual picture, or a nude sent first “to show trust”
- Excuses such as “my camera is broken”
- A request to keep the friendship or the pictures secret
- Many people from your school or friends list suddenly following the same new account
Signs a child may be targeted
- Seems scared, upset or secretive after using a phone, or panics when a message arrives
- Suddenly stops using a device or an app, or cannot stop checking it
- Changes in sleep, appetite, mood or schoolwork
- Asks for money, gift cards or phone credit, or money goes missing
- Deletes messages, closes accounts or opens new ones
- Talks about being “ruined” or having “no way out”. Take this seriously.
These signs can have other causes. They are a reason to talk gently, not proof that something is wrong.
Prevention
How to stay safe
Nobody can stop every attempt, but these habits make you much harder to trap. They also make it easier to get out early.
Fake pictures. People can make fake nude images from ordinary photos, using editing or AI tools. If someone threatens you with a fake picture, it is still blackmail and it is not your fault. Follow the same steps and report it.
What to do
If you are being blackmailed
You have more power than you think. Here is what helps, and what makes things worse.
Do
- Stop replying. You do not have to answer or argue.
- Save the details: screenshots of the profile, username, link, threats and payment requests.
- Tell a trusted adult or friend. Do not carry this alone.
- Block the person and report the account in the app, after you have saved the details.
- Report to APLE. You can stay anonymous.
- Use Take It Down to stop your pictures spreading.
- Change your passwords and check your privacy settings, especially if they say they hacked you.
- Look after yourself, and ask for support.
Do not
- Pay, even “just once”. It rarely ends it.
- Send more pictures, videos or money.
- Believe “I will delete it if you pay”.
- Delete your account or the chat before you have saved the details.
- Save, share or forward nude pictures of a child, even to show someone.
- Threaten the person back, or try to find them on your own.
- Stay silent because of shame. Shame is what the blackmailer is counting on.
Get pictures removed
How to get pictures taken down
If a picture or video is online, or someone says they will share it, you can act. No tool can remove everything from everywhere, so the sooner you start, the better. Do not share the picture again, even to report it: send links and screenshots of the messages instead.
Build your skills
Learn how to report
Reporting is a skill, and you can practise it. First, know where to go. You can use more than one.
Get ready: what to have
- Their profile name, username and the link (copy the web address)
- The app or website where it happened
- The dates and times of the messages
- Screenshots of the threats and demands (not of nude pictures)
- Any payment details they gave you, and receipts for payments you made
- The links where a picture was shared, if you know them
- Anything else you remember, in your own words
You do not need proof, and you do not need to know everything. Report with what you have, and write “I do not know” where you are not sure.
Report in an app, step by step
- Open the person’s profile, or press and hold the message.
- Tap the three dots or the flag, then Report.
- Choose the reason closest to what happened: nudity, sexual exploitation, threats, blackmail, fake account or scam.
- Add the details if the app asks, then send.
- Block the person.
- Take a screenshot of the confirmation if you can.
Apps look different. If you cannot find the report option, search the app’s help centre for “report”, or ask APLE for help.
Three ways to reach APLE
Report to APLE
All are free, private and open to everyone: a child, a friend, a parent or a teacher. You can stay anonymous.
Say it in your own words
What to say when you report
You do not need perfect words. You can write or say something like this:
“I am 15. Someone I met on Facebook is threatening to share my pictures unless I send money. Their username is [name]. I have not paid. I have saved screenshots. I need help.”
What the report form asks
- Your age and gender, so that the right help can be given
- What you are reporting, and where it happened, with the link
- What happened, in your own words
- Anything you know about the child and about the other person
- Whether the police are already involved
- Whether you want to share your contact details or stay anonymous
If you do not know an answer, write “I do not know”. Do not wait until you have everything. Never attach or send pictures: paste the link instead.
What happens after you report
A trained analyst reads your report and helps you understand your options. Where needed, APLE works with online platforms and the police to protect the child and to have content removed. You decide how much to share, and you can stay anonymous. If you share your contact details, they are kept confidential and are not shared without your consent.
APLE is a member of INHOPE, a network of hotlines in many countries, so a report can reach the right place even when the person is far away.
Practise
What would you do?
Read each situation and decide what you would do. Then open it to compare.
Read a situation and say out loud what you would do. Then open it to compare. There is no single perfect answer: the aim is to stop, save the details, tell someone and report. Practise with a friend or a parent. Teachers can use these situations in a lesson.
Do not move apps and do not send anything. Say no, or do not reply. Block the account and tell a trusted person. A real friend will not pressure you.
Stop. Do not pay and do not reply. Take screenshots of the threat and the profile. Tell a trusted adult. Block and report in the app, report to APLE, and use Take It Down. The deadline is a pressure tactic.
Many of these messages are scams, and there may be no picture at all. Do not pay and do not reply. Change your passwords, turn on two-step login, report the message, and ask an adult if you are unsure.
Listen, and say it is not their fault. Do not share their story or their pictures. Help them save the details, block and report. Encourage them to tell a trusted adult, and offer to go with them. If they are in danger or very upset, tell an adult yourself.
Do not open, save or forward it, and do not joke about it. Report the post in the app and leave the group if you need to. Tell a teacher or trusted adult, and be kind to the person in the picture. Sharing it harms them.
Stop paying. Tell your bank or mobile wallet provider what happened, because some payments can be stopped, and keep the receipts. Save the details, report to APLE and to the app, and tell a trusted adult.
Stay calm. Say “thank you for telling me, you are not in trouble”. Do not pay or reply. Save the details, block and report the account, and report to APLE. Get support for your child.
Support
You do not have to do this alone
Sextortion can make you feel scared, ashamed, angry and alone. These feelings are normal, and they do not mean you did something wrong. Telling someone is the first step to feeling safer.
APLE’s team is here for you. Every conversation is private, and you decide how much to share. All of APLE’s services are free.
- The hotline on 092 311 511, day and night
- Chat with Pisey on Messenger
- The online report form, with the option to stay anonymous
- Counselling and legal support for survivors
- The police hotline, 1288, if a child is in immediate danger
After it happens
Looking after yourself
- Talk to someone you trust. You do not have to tell the whole story at once.
- Keep to a routine: sleep, meals, school, friends and things you enjoy.
- Spend less time on apps or chats that upset you, and ask a friend to help with your accounts.
- Counselling can help, even after the blackmail has stopped. APLE can connect you with support.
- If school is hard, tell a teacher or school counsellor what you need, such as more time or a quiet place.
Healing takes time, and it is possible. If you are not sleeping, feel hopeless, or think about hurting yourself, tell an adult right now, go to the nearest health centre or hospital, or call APLE’s hotline on 092 311 511.
For parents, caregivers and teachers
If a child tells you
The first minutes matter. Your calm response can decide whether the child keeps talking to you.
- Stay calm and listen. Let the child tell it in their own words. Thank them for telling you.
- Say that it is not their fault and that you are on their side, even if they sent the picture or broke a rule.
- Do not punish, shout or take the phone as a first reaction. Fear of punishment is why many children stay silent.
- Do not pay, and do not contact or confront the blackmailer.
- Save the details: screenshots of the profile, username, link, messages and payment requests. Do not save, forward or look through nude pictures of the child.
- Block and report the account in the app. Keep the child’s account and the chat for now.
- Report to APLE (online, by hotline or with Pisey). If the child is in immediate danger, call 1288.
- Get the pictures removed with the child, using Take It Down.
- Get support for the child from a counsellor or a trusted professional, and watch for signs of distress. Take any talk of self-harm seriously, and stay with the child.
Helping children speak up before it happens
- Talk early and often. Ask about apps and online friends as you would ask about school.
- Agree on a “no secrets, no shame” rule: a child can always tell you about something online, even if they broke a rule.
- Explain how blackmailers work, using this page. Teenagers need facts, not fear.
- Set up privacy settings together, and talk about consent and about not sharing other people’s pictures.
- Teachers: include sextortion in online safety lessons, make sure students know who to go to, and follow your school’s child protection steps.
What you can say: “Thank you for telling me. You are not in trouble. We will sort this out together.”
For professionals
If you work with children
- Listen without judgement and reassure the child. Do not promise to keep secrets that your child protection or legal duties do not allow, and follow your organisation’s procedure.
- Do not view more than you must, and do not copy, download, forward or store sexual images of a child. It can be a crime and it causes further harm. Record usernames, links, dates and what the child said.
- Report to the APLE hotline and, where required, to the police. APLE can help with having content removed.
- Refer the child and the family for counselling and legal support.
- Look after your own wellbeing. This work is hard, and you should not carry it alone.
Questions
Questions people ask
Blackmailers send the same messages to many people. They look for anyone who is online and will reply, so it is a numbers game for them. It says nothing bad about you. It happened because a criminal chose to do it.
No. The person who blackmails you is the one doing wrong. APLE’s job is to help and protect you, not to blame you. It takes courage to ask for help.
No. Paying rarely stops it. The person usually asks for more, and may threaten you again. If you have already paid, stop and ask for help.
No. They may keep the picture and ask for more. The way to stop being their target is to cut contact and get help.
They can try, and that is why this feels so scary. Many blackmailers make threats and do not follow them once you stop replying, but you cannot be sure. Prepare: hide your friends list, tell a trusted person (you can tell your family yourself first, so that the blackmailer loses their power), save the details, report, and use Take It Down. If a picture is shared, the person sharing it is the one doing wrong, and you can get help to have it removed.
Take it seriously. Tell a trusted adult and call the police hotline on 1288 or your local police right away. Save the messages, and report to APLE too. You do not have to face this alone.
You are still not to blame. Stop now. If you paid through a bank or a wallet, tell the provider quickly, because some payments can be stopped. Keep the receipts. Save the details, report to APLE and to the app, and tell a trusted adult.
Report anyway, and tell us what you remember. Next time, save the details before you delete or block.
Many blackmailers are far away. Report anyway. APLE is a member of INHOPE, a network of hotlines in many countries, so reports can reach the right place.
It is still blackmail, and a fake picture can hurt just as much. Do not pay, report it, and ask for it to be removed. It is not your fault.
You can still report to the app and to APLE, and get support. Use StopNCII.org for pictures taken when you were 18 or older, and Take It Down for pictures taken before you were 18.
You decide how much to share, and you can report anonymously. A trained APLE team member will talk through your options before anything happens. Telling a trusted adult usually makes things easier, and APLE can help you find the words.
It is still sextortion. Tell a trusted adult and report it. APLE can help you plan safely.
Listen, say it is not their fault, do not share their story, and help them follow the four steps at the top of this page. Offer to go with them to a trusted adult. If you are worried that they may hurt themselves, tell an adult right away.
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