Sextortion can refer to a variety of offences committed online. It is most often used to describe online blackmail, where criminals threaten to release sexual/indecent images of you, unless you pay money or do something else.
Sextortion may be:
- Financial blackmail using sexual / indecent images that have been sent to somebody you’ve had contact with online.
- Financial blackmail using images that have been stolen from you, taken through hacking, or have been faked using AI generators or other image altering technology.
- Blackmail using sexual/indecent images that have been sent to somebody, but with a demand for something other than money. This might be a demand for you to do something you don’t want to, like give them use of your bank account.
How to recognise the signs
- They’re moving too fast. They try to develop a relationship with you very quickly. They might be flirty, tell you they like you very soon, or ask for sexual / indecent images. Some may even send a sexual / indecent image to you first.
- They pressure you to do things you’re not comfortable with. They may repeatedly ask you to do sexual things you don’t feel comfortable with. It’s never ok for someone to ask you to do things you don’t want to and there are places you can get help.
- They might tell you they’ve hacked you or that they have access to your contacts. Some blackmailers might tell you they’ve got embarrassing images or information about you from your device. They might threaten to share this information unless money is given to them.
How can I protect myself online?
If you are chatting to new people online:
- Review your privacy settings – if scammers can’t see who your friends and family are, they’re less likely to be able to make threats to share images or information. The National Cyber Security Centre has information on how to use social media safely here.
- If you’re not comfortable with any new relationships or contact, end it quickly.
- If you have doubts or need support, or are worried you might be being targeted- whether or not anyone is actively threatening you - contact your local police force or any of the other support pages under the Where can I get help section below.
What to do if you're a victim of sextortion
If this has happened to you, it is not your fault and there is help and support available.
Pause
- Stop all communication with the offender immediately.
- You may be tempted to pay, but there is no guarantee that this will stop the threats. The offender’s motive is to get money, once you have shown you can pay they will likely ask for more and the blackmail may continue.
- Preserve evidence, if possible. Take screenshots of the offender’s profile information. Save messages and images, and make a note of usernames, email addresses, phone numbers or bank account numbers.
- If your images have been shared online, collect URLs and links if you can.
Report
- Report the incident to Merseyside Police by calling 101
- Under 18’s can report sextortion, or any other form of online child sexual abuse, to the NCA’s CEOP Safety Centre www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre
These are the quickest ways to report an offence. Reporting helps UK law enforcement to best support you and hold criminals responsible.
However, we understand you may find it difficult to report this type of crime, so it may help you to talk to someone first.
Where can I get help?
If you are in severe distress and thinking about harming yourself, call 999 immediately.
We understand the devastating impact that this type of crime can have. The following organisations are available for further advice and support:
For adults over 18
- Revenge porn helpline – free, confidential help and support for adult victims of intimate image abuse living in the UK.
- Stop NCII (Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse) – free tool to help detect and remove images from being shared online.
- Samaritans – free, confidential listening service for any issue, with no pressure or judgement.
- Local mental health signpost
For children under 18
- Report Remove - for young people to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves, for help to remove them from the internet.
- Childline – free, confidential support online and over the phone for young people under 19.
- Young Minds – mental health charity for children, young people, offering advice, information and 24/7 text support.
- Local child and young person mental health signposts
More information
If you’ve paid the person, consider getting in touch with your bank. They may not be able to recover payments you have authorised but will be able to help UK Law Enforcement better understand the current threat.
If you’ve been the victim of Phishing or a hacking incident, or you need advice on protecting your data online please visit the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
If you aren’t being threatened or extorted, but think a partner you met online might be trying to get money from you, this could be romance fraud. For more information on this please visit Action Fraud.
Please visit the CEOP Education website for further relevant advice on sextortion.
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