Sextortion Scam? Don’t Pay: 8 Steps to Protect Yourself Now

A sextortion scam uses panic as leverage

The sender may claim to have a real intimate image, a recording, stolen account data or an AI-generated fake. They may display names from your contact list, demand cryptocurrency or threaten a short deadline. Those details can feel conclusive, but they do not prove that payment will stop the threats or that the sender has everything claimed.

The FTC describes image-based abuse as creating, sharing or threatening to share intimate material without permission, including altered images and AI deepfakes. Its blackmail guidance says not to pay, send more images or provide account or device access. Treat the threat as an incident to document and report, not a private negotiation you must solve alone.

1. Pause the conversation—do not pay or send more

Do not transfer money, gift cards or cryptocurrency. Do not send another image to “prove” anything, click an unknown removal link, install remote-access software or share a verification code. A countdown is designed to compress judgment.

If money has already been sent, stop further payments. Contact the payment service or financial institution through its official app, website or card number and ask whether the transaction can be flagged. Recovery is not guaranteed, and a second person promising paid “recovery” may be another scam.

2. Save evidence before you block

Capture the profile name, account URL, phone number or email, timestamps, payment demand, wallet address, threats and the platform where contact occurred. Preserve the original messages where practical. Record URLs for any posted content. Do not redistribute an intimate image to friends merely to prove it exists.

Evidence needs vary by jurisdiction and platform. If collecting a screenshot would expose you to immediate danger, prioritize physical safety and contact local emergency services or law enforcement.

3. Secure the accounts that control recovery

Start with the email account used to reset other services. Change reused or exposed passwords to unique ones, enable the strongest available multifactor authentication, review active sessions and recovery methods, and remove unfamiliar devices or forwarding rules. Then repeat the check for social, cloud-storage and payment accounts.

Do not use a link supplied by the sender. Open the official service directly. If you suspect device access rather than a single compromised account, disconnect unnecessary remote-access tools and seek qualified technical help.

4. Report the profile, then block contact

Use the platform’s reporting route for extortion, harassment, impersonation or non-consensual intimate imagery. Save the report confirmation or case number. After evidence is preserved, block the account and ignore new approaches from replacement profiles.

Do not publicly challenge the sender or recruit strangers to retaliate. That may amplify the content, expose more personal information or interfere with reporting.

5. Report the crime through the right jurisdiction

In the United States, the FTC directs targets of image-based blackmail to local law enforcement and the FBI. Reports can be filed through tips.fbi.gov. Outside the United States, use the official cybercrime or police reporting route for your location.

A report does not promise an arrest or immediate removal, but it creates a record and may connect the account, wallet or contact method with other cases. Keep the reference number and copies of what you submitted.

6. Request removal from the host and search results

If content is online, report the exact post or file to the hosting platform. Keep each content URL and the report response. Google also accepts removal requests for personal sexual content in Search, including identifiable fake or AI-generated sexual imagery. Removing a search result does not remove the file from the website hosting it, so the host and search requests are separate actions.

For adults who possess the relevant image or video, StopNCII.org can create a digital fingerprint on the user’s device and share the hash—not the image—with participating platforms. It cannot remove material from the entire internet and does not cover every service.

7. Tell one trusted person and reduce immediate exposure

Shame makes isolation useful to the extorter. Tell a trusted friend, family member, counselor or advocate what happened and ask them to help record the sequence, protect sleep and avoid impulsive payments. If the sender threatens physical harm, knows your location or appears nearby, contact local emergency services.

If you feel at risk of harming yourself, contact an emergency or crisis service in your country now and stay with another person. The threat is an abuse tactic; it is not your fault.

8. Monitor for follow-up scams without living in the inbox

Expect possible replacement accounts, fake investigators or paid “reputation” services. Treat unsolicited recovery promises as unverified. Check account sessions and search results on a schedule rather than responding to every alert immediately. Save new evidence, report it and block again.

Review what information is public on social profiles, but do not destroy evidence or abandon every account in panic. Make changes deliberately and keep a written incident timeline.

If anyone depicted is under 18

Do not download, forward or create additional copies of the material. Use the official child-protection and law-enforcement route for your country. In the United States, the FBI points to NCMEC’s CyberTipline and Take It Down resources. StopNCII is designed for people who were adults in the submitted images; it is not the correct route for material depicting minors.