Sextortion: What to Do Right Now and How to Report It

If someone is threatening to share your nude photos or a recorded video call unless you pay, that's sextortion, and the first rule is simple: don't pay and don't send anything else. Save the evidence, stop replying without deleting the chat, and report the account to the platform and to the FBI, or to NCMEC's CyberTipline if you're under 18. It's not your fault, and free help exists, including tools that help get images taken down.

Blackmailers count on shame and panic to make you act fast and alone. That's why it helps to take a breath and go step by step. Many threats also arrive as mass emails with no video behind them at all. We pulled together what the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) advise, for adults and for teens.

Sextortion: what to do in the first few minutes

Don't give in to the demand, however short the deadline. A U.S. Treasury notice on sextortion sums up the guidance for victims: cooperating rarely stops the blackmail and harassment, but law enforcement can. Instead, save the evidence, stop responding and block the account without deleting the conversation. Then report it to the platform and to law enforcement, and get support rather than carrying this alone.

1. Don't pay: Don't send money, gift cards or cryptocurrency, not even a partial payment.
2. Don't send more: No more photos or videos, even if the blackmailer offers that as a way out.
3. Save the evidence: Capture the profile, username, profile link, messages and every demand before you block anyone.
4. Stop contact, keep the chat: Stop replying and block the person, but don't delete the conversation or your own account.
5. Report it: Report the account on the platform and file a report at ic3.gov. If you're under 18, report to NCMEC's CyberTipline instead, which IC3 names as the place for crimes against children.
6. Get help: Tell someone you trust. If you're a teen, talk to a parent or another adult you trust.

You are not to blame. As NCMEC puts it, even if you made a choice you regret, the blackmailer is the one committing a crime. Sextortion also often starts with an account that doesn't belong to the person you think you're talking to. Our guide on how to tell if someone is catfishing you shows how to spot those accounts earlier next time.

What sextortion is and how it usually unfolds

Sextortion means someone uses intimate images or videos to pressure you into paying money, sending more images or doing something else you don't want to do. The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report says it can start on any site, app, messaging platform or game where people meet. In 2025, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received more than 75,000 submissions about sextortion and referred more than 5,700 involving minors to NCMEC.

Rather than opening with a threat, the report says, it more often starts when people believe they're talking to someone their own age who is interested in a relationship, or to someone offering something of value. Once the criminals have one or more pictures or videos, they threaten to publish them, or threaten violence, to force the victim to produce more images.

The Treasury notice adds that perpetrators use fake personas and can target anyone. Many victims are adults, but according to law enforcement, boys between 14 and 17 are a particularly vulnerable group.

There are two very different versions:

• Real images or recordings: A new match or follower flirts, moves the chat to another app and pushes for nudes or a video call. The call is secretly recorded, and according to the Treasury notice, the extortion can start within minutes.
• Mass blackmail emails: A message claims your computer or webcam was hacked and you were recorded. These are sent in bulk, and there's usually no video behind them. The section on sextortion scam emails below explains how to spot them.

A newer twist: fake nudes. The FBI has warned that criminals turn ordinary photos from social media into sexually explicit deepfakes and use them for sextortion. So a blackmailer doesn't even need a real intimate image of you. Our guide on how to spot a deepfake explains what deepfakes are and how to recognize them. In our view, the steps stay the same either way: don't pay, save, report and get help.

Save the evidence without putting yourself at risk

Evidence helps the platform and law enforcement act against the account. In a public service announcement on deepfake sextortion, the FBI asks victims to retain all information about the incident: usernames, email addresses, the names of the platforms or websites used, and any photos or videos. Capture it before you block, because the profile may disappear later.

A practical checklist:

• Screenshots of the profile, including the username and the link to the account
• The full conversation, including messages on any other app you moved to
• Every threat and demand, with dates and times
• Payment details the blackmailer sent, such as a gift card request, a payment app handle or a crypto wallet address

Federal guidance for victims says to block the blackmailer but save the profile and messages, because they help law enforcement identify and stop the perpetrator. NCMEC adds a detail: block the account, but don't delete your own profile either. Write down a short timeline too: where you met, when the threats started and what was demanded. That makes filing a report faster.

There's one important exception. If the images show someone under 18, don't forward, download or re-share them, not even to a friend who wants to help or as evidence. Let NCMEC's CyberTipline or law enforcement tell you what to preserve and how.

How to report sextortion: platform, FBI and NCMEC

Report sextortion in at least two places: on the platform where it happened and to law enforcement. The platform can remove the account and intimate content, and your report may protect the next person the blackmailer targets.

On Instagram, you can report the profile, individual posts or messages right in the app. Instagram's help article on dealing with blackmail asks you to report blackmail and to contact local law enforcement, and suggests telling someone you trust, such as a friend, relative, teacher or counselor. On other apps, look for a report option on the post, profile or chat; the FTC notes it may sit behind the three dots in the upper right corner of a post.

The warning signs often show before a chat even starts. Our guide on how to spot a fake Instagram account walks you through them.

For law enforcement, federal agencies list several ways to report:

• File a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
• Submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).
• If a minor is involved, report to NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
• If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911.

You can also file a report with your local police department. If the account turned out to be a fake identity, our guide on what to do if you get catfished covers the next steps.

Getting images taken down: StopNCII, Take It Down and the TAKE IT DOWN Act

Three similar names, three different things. Two are free tools that fingerprint an image on your own device, and one is a federal law that gives you rights against platforms.

StopNCII.org is for adults. The FTC explains that this free global tool, run by the Revenge Porn Helpline, creates a digital fingerprint (a hash) of the image on your phone or computer. It shares only that fingerprint, never the image, with participating platforms, which scan for matches and block the image. StopNCII says it can be used in sextortion cases and also accepts deepfakes of you.

Take It Down is NCMEC's version for images taken when you were under 18, even if you're an adult now. It's free and anonymous and works the same way: the image stays on your device. NCMEC asks that you not download or share any image just to submit it. The tool only works with files that are already on your device.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act requires covered platforms to give you a way to report intimate images shared without your consent. According to the FTC, they must take down the images and copies of them within 48 hours of your request, and that includes deepfakes. If a platform doesn't, report it at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.

Know the limits. The hash tools only work on participating platforms that are public or unencrypted, not inside encrypted messaging apps and not across the whole internet. A cropped or filtered copy may not match the original fingerprint, StopNCII notes. If an image shows up on a website, report it there as well.

If you're a teen or a parent: getting help without blame

If you're under 18: you are not to blame for being targeted, and the person threatening you is the one committing a crime. Don't pay and don't send anything else, because giving in rarely ends it. Report the account in the app, block the person, and keep your profile and messages instead of deleting them.

Then ask a trusted adult or law enforcement for help, as federal guidance for victims recommends. If there's no adult you feel you can talk to, NCMEC offers support for minors at [email protected] or 1-800-THE-LOST. It can also help get images of you taken down, through Take It Down or a CyberTipline report. Don't forward the images to anyone, including friends who want to help.

For parents, the most important message is the one NCMEC gives victims: the blackmailer is to blame. In our view, the most helpful thing you can do is stay calm and make sure your child hears that from you first. Anger or taking away their phone can make a child hide the next problem. Don't save or forward the images yourself, and report through the CyberTipline or the FBI.

Sextortion scam emails: how to spot the bluff

A typical scam email claims someone hacked your computer and recorded you through your webcam while you visited adult websites. Unless you pay in Bitcoin, the message says, the video goes to your friends and family within hours. The FTC's advice on these sextortion scam emails is blunt: don't pay anything, delete the message, it's a scam.

What makes these emails convincing is a real detail. According to the FTC, the scammers may really know one of your old or recent passwords and include it to prove their claim. You may get such a message because your email address was exposed in a data breach. The claims about hacking your computer or webcam are all talk, the FTC says.

Typical signs of a mass sextortion email:

• It quotes a password you used at some point, often an old one.
• It seems to come from your own email address. Sender addresses can be faked, so this alone doesn't mean anyone got into your account.
• It demands Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency within hours or a day or two.
• It may tell you not to contact the police or anyone else.

When a password shows up, the FTC says it's time to change it on that account and consider changing other passwords too. Turn on multi-factor authentication for your email, which the FBI also recommends for securing online accounts. Then report the email at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and delete it. If you already paid, file a complaint at ic3.gov as well.

Is sextortion a crime? What federal law says

Yes, it can be. The FBI states that sextortion may violate several federal criminal statutes. According to the Treasury notice, the TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed in May 2025, also criminalizes publishing intimate images online without consent and threatening to do so, including AI-generated deepfakes. When the victim is a minor, NCMEC says sharing nude images of them is illegal and could be considered child sexual abuse material.

The same law gives victims a removal process on covered platforms. State laws differ on top of that, and which charges apply in a specific case is for prosecutors and courts to decide. For questions about your own situation, such as whether you can sue, talk to law enforcement or an attorney. None of this is legal advice.

In practice, the most important legal step is the first one: reporting. A report creates a record, and according to the FBI, reporting these crimes can help law enforcement identify the people behind them and prevent further victims.

Getting support: you don't have to go through this alone

Sextortion can bring on fear, shame and panic. That's a normal reaction to a threat, not a sign of weakness. The responsibility lies with the blackmailer, not with you, even if you trusted someone and sent images. Talk to someone you trust, or to one of the services below.

If you're in crisis or thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free, confidential and available 24/7. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911. There is a way through this, and you don't have to find it on your own.

Be careful with companies that charge to make the problem go away. The FBI has warned about for-profit firms that charge sextortion victims high fees, use scare tactics and even discourage them from going to the police. In one case it describes, a company solicited multiple payments totaling $5,000 from a juvenile victim. The Treasury notice adds that some scammers falsely pose as recovery experts, attorneys or even law enforcement agents. Law enforcement and nonprofit organizations help victims at no charge.

How to protect yourself from sextortion in the future

The FBI's core advice is to be cautious about accepting friend requests, video calls and sending images to people you don't know personally. Be especially wary of anyone who pushes for intimate content early. In its deepfake alert, the FBI adds these habits:

• Set your social media profiles and friends lists to private.
• Think twice about which photos and personal details you post publicly.
• Secure your accounts with strong passphrases and multi-factor authentication.
• Never send money or anything of value to someone you only know online.

The FBI also suggests reverse image searches to find your own photos circulating without your knowledge. You can use the same technique to check new contacts before you trust them: our guide on how to reverse image search shows how to see whether a profile photo appears elsewhere under another name. A video call alone proves less than it used to, since deepfakes can run in real time. For the scams that start on dating apps, see our guides to dating app scams and romance scams.

Frequently asked questions about sextortion

What is sextortion?

Sextortion is blackmail with intimate images or videos. Someone threatens to post the content or send it to your friends and family unless you pay money or send more images. It often starts with flirting on social media, a dating app or a game, followed by a secretly recorded video call. A second form is mass email that only claims to have a video.

Should I pay a sextortion scammer?

No. Federal guidance for victims says cooperating rarely stops the blackmail and harassment, and the FBI warns that complying doesn't guarantee your images won't be shared. Don't send more images either. Save the evidence, stop contact without deleting the chat, report the account and file a report at ic3.gov. If you already paid, report that too.

How do I report sextortion?

Report the account on the platform where it happened, using the app's report option on the profile, post or message. Then file a complaint at ic3.gov, submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. If a minor is involved, report to NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-THE-LOST. Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger.

Is sextortion a crime?

Yes, it can be. The FBI says sextortion may violate several federal criminal statutes, and the TAKE IT DOWN Act criminalizes publishing intimate images without consent or threatening to. Sharing nude images of a minor can count as child sexual abuse material. State laws add their own rules, and prosecutors decide what applies in each case. Report it to the FBI or local police, and talk to an attorney about your specific situation.

Are sextortion emails with my password real?

Usually not. The FTC says the scammers may know an old or recent password, often from a data breach, but their claims about hacking your webcam are all talk. Don't reply or pay. Change that password wherever you still use it, turn on multi-factor authentication, report the email at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and delete it.

Can I get my intimate images taken down?

Often, at least on major platforms. Report the image to the platform first. Under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, covered platforms must remove intimate images shared without consent within 48 hours of your request. StopNCII.org (images taken when you were 18 or older) and NCMEC's Take It Down (images taken before 18) help participating platforms block copies. Neither works inside encrypted messaging apps.

What should I do if my child is being sextorted?

Stay calm and make it clear your child isn't to blame. Don't pay, and don't save or forward the images yourself. Help your child report the account in the app and block it without deleting messages. Report to NCMEC's CyberTipline or call 1-800-THE-LOST, and contact the FBI. Take It Down can help keep the images off participating platforms.

The bottom line: sextortion loses power when you speak up

Sextortion works when victims panic, pay and stay silent. Don't pay, don't send more, save the profile and the chat, then stop contact. Report the account to the platform, file a report with the FBI or NCMEC, and use StopNCII or Take It Down to keep images off participating platforms.

For a sextortion email quoting an old password, change that password, turn on multi-factor authentication and report the message. Whatever form it takes, the blame lies with the blackmailer. Reach out to someone you trust or to one of the free services above. You don't have to handle this alone.