17M being sextorted â has my photos, wants money or sends to parents and school
Minor being extorted with intimate images by online predator
If you're a teenager being sextorted â someone has your photos and is demanding money or threatening to send them to your parents and school â you need to know something right now: this is not your fault, and you are not in trouble.
The person threatening you is a criminal committing multiple federal felonies. They do this to hundreds of kids. You are not the only one, and you will not be punished for being a victim. What matters right now is that you take the right steps to protect yourself.
Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). You can also text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line). These are free, confidential, and available 24/7. This situation is temporary and fixable â please reach out.
The Most Important Thing to Understand
The person threatening you is a professional criminal. The FBI has identified organized sextortion networks operating primarily out of West Africa and Southeast Asia that specifically target teenagers.1 They are doing this to hundreds of people simultaneously. You are not special to them â you are a number. That's actually good news, because it means:
Distributing images takes effort with no financial return. If you stop paying and stop responding, you become a dead lead. They move on to the next target.
They may have screenshots of your follower list, but contacting each person individually is not how these operations work. The threat is designed to scare you into paying.
Any intimate image of a minor is classified as CSAM (child sexual abuse material). Possessing, distributing, or threatening to distribute it is a federal crime carrying decades in prison. The criminal is far more afraid of getting caught than you should be of them.
What to Do Right Now
Paying will not make them stop. The FBI confirms that payment almost always leads to more demands. If you already paid, stop now. The money is gone but the cycle ends when you stop feeding it.
Do not respond to any more messages. Do not negotiate. Do not try to reason with them. Block them, but do NOT delete the conversation yet.
Before blocking, screenshot every message, their profile, their username, any payment details. Save these in a folder. This is evidence.
This is the hardest step but the most important. A parent, school counselor, older sibling, aunt, uncle â someone who can help you take the next steps. You will NOT get in trouble. Adults understand that this is a crime against you.
Go to CyberTipline.org and file a report. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children works directly with law enforcement and platforms to get content removed and criminals investigated.
File at ic3.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. The FBI has a dedicated task force for sextortion targeting minors.
Whether it's Snapchat, Instagram, or anywhere else â report the account. Mention sextortion and that a minor is involved. Platforms prioritize these reports.
Set everything to private. Remove your follower list from public view. This prevents the scammer from finding your contacts if they create a new account.
Telling Your Parents (It's Not as Bad as You Think)
We know this is the part you're dreading. The idea of telling your parents what happened feels worse than the sextortion itself. But here's what actually happens in almost every case: your parents are scared for you, angry at the criminal, and want to help. They are not going to punish you.
If you can't tell your parents directly, here are alternatives:
- Text them if saying it out loud is too hard
- Ask a school counselor to be present or to tell them on your behalf
- Call the CyberTipline (1-800-843-5678) and ask the counselor for advice on how to tell your parents
- Write a note and leave it for them â you don't have to be in the room when they read it
âI was 16 and terrified to tell my mom. When I finally did, she just hugged me and said 'Let's fix this.' I felt like 1000 pounds came off my chest. We reported it together and it was over within a week.â
â Reddit, r/Sextortion survivor
What Happens After You Report
The FBI and NCMEC take minor sextortion extremely seriously. Here's the typical timeline:2
Reports involving minors and CSAM threats are fast-tracked. The scammer's account gets banned, usually within days.
The FBI aggregates reports to identify networks. Major sextortion rings targeting minors have been prosecuted and dismantled.
If any content was shared, hashing through StopNCII.org prevents it from being re-uploaded to participating platforms.
If You Already Paid
Stop paying now. Do not send another dollar. Include all payment details in your FBI and NCMEC reports â amount, method (Cash App, Venmo, crypto), transaction IDs, and the account you sent to. The money is probably unrecoverable, but the payment details help law enforcement track the criminal network.
While sexting laws vary by state, law enforcement and prosecutors universally treat minors who are sextorted as victims, not offenders. The FBI has publicly stated that their priority is the criminal targeting you, not the victim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & Citations
- 1FBI Public Advisory: Financial sextortion schemes targeting minors are a growing threat, with organized networks operating from West Africa and Southeast Asia. FBI.gov â
- 2NCMEC reported a 322% increase in financial sextortion reports between 2021 and 2023, with the majority targeting boys ages 14-17. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children â
- 3Thorn research: Understanding the threat of sextortion against minors and the role of technology in prevention. Thorn â
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