View the What Is Sextortion Power Topic

What’s Ahead

• What is sextortion?
• How does it start?
• Who can be trusted online?
• What should I do if this is happening to me?
• How can I help someone else?
• How can I protect myself and my friends?
• What can I do if I am sexually assaulted?
• What can I do if I experience or witness sexual harassment?

What Is Sextortion?

• The FBI defines sextortion as a crime that occurs online when an adult convinces a person under the age of 18 to share sexual images or perform sexual acts on a webcam.
  • The FBI is seeing an alarming increase in sextortion cases.
  • Perpetrators exploit young people through connected devices, often within their own homes.
• The strategies shared here can help protect against sextortion by perpetrators of any age.

How Does Sextortion Start?

• Sextortion can begin on any online platform where people communicate. A perpetrator may contact you:
  • While you are playing online games
  • Through dating apps
  • Via social media platforms
• In some cases, the first contact is a threat claiming the person already has images or videos.
• More commonly, perpetrators pretend to be someone your age and express romantic interest or offer something of value.
• To pressure victims into sharing images, perpetrators may use:
  • Threats
  • Flattery
  • Money
  • Gifts or in-game rewards
• Once images are obtained, perpetrators threaten to share them to demand more.
• An adult commits a crime the moment they ask a minor for a sexual image.

How Do Perpetrators Do This?

• Perpetrators study how to target children and teens online.
• In documented cases, perpetrators have:
  • Pretended to be teenagers on social media
  • Offered money, smartphones, or gaming currency
  • Made threats of physical violence or harm
  • Used video games to exchange rewards for images

Watch this short video of a sextortion survivor describing her experience at age 14.

Talk About It

• Has anyone you didn’t know ever tried to contact you online?
• Did you ever suspect an adult was pretending to be a teen?
• What did you do—or what would you do—if this happened?
• Why do you think adults seek out youth online?

Who Can Be Trusted Online?

• It can be very difficult to know who to trust online.
• The FBI reports that perpetrators often manage dozens of accounts and communicate with many young people simultaneously.
• Be extremely cautious when sharing personal information online:
  • It may feel safe to be online at home, but harm can still occur.
  • Avoid sharing your full name, address, school, age, location, or friends’ names.

How Can Sextortion Harm Me?

• Even without in-person contact, sextortion causes serious emotional harm.
• Perpetrators can become relentless in their threats and harassment.
• Victims often feel scared, ashamed, anxious, isolated, and desperate.
• Many victims feel trapped and unsure how to escape the situation.

What Should I Do If This Is Happening to Me?

• Tell a trusted adult that you are being targeted online and need help.
  • You are not in trouble.
  • There are people who can help stop this.
• Contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678) or online.
• Reach out to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or report the crime online.
  • FBI agents handle these cases regularly.
  • Their goal is to stop the abuse and help you stay safe.

Will I Be in Trouble?

• You are not breaking the law.
• Perpetrators rely on fear and embarrassment to keep victims silent.
• You are not at fault even if:
  • You were using an app you were too young to be on
  • You initially felt comfortable creating content
  • You accepted money, gifts, or in-game rewards

Sextortion is a crime because it is illegal and wrong for an adult to request, pay for, or demand sexual images from a minor.

How Can I Help Someone Else?

• Listen with compassion and without judgment
• Tell them you are sorry this is happening
• Reassure them they have done nothing wrong
• Encourage them to seek help and offer to support them in finding a trusted adult

How Can I Protect Myself and My Friends?

• Limit what you share online and review privacy settings
• Trust your instincts—block and report suspicious messages
• Remember that photos and videos can be fake or stolen
• Be cautious if someone asks to move conversations to private platforms
• Once content is shared, control over it is lost
• Ask for help immediately if something feels wrong

Protect yourself and your friends through awareness, caution, and by asking for help when needed.

Do More

• How can you help educate others about sextortion?
• Who at your school is responsible for helping with this issue?
• Who in your community could provide support?
• Share one thing you learned today and one action you will take moving forward