What is Sextortion
Sextortion is a form of blackmail that involves threatening to distribute private, sensitive, or
compromising images or videos of an individual unless they provide more images, money, sexual
favors, or other forms of compensation.
This often occurs online, where perpetrators may manipulate victims into sharing intimate content,
which is then used against them. It doesn’t matter if the victim consensually provided the imagery.
Sextortion is a serious crime that can have significant emotional and psychological impacts on
victims.
Common examples of sextortion include:
-
A teen in an online chat room befriends a criminal who pretends to be a romantic interest and
asks the teen to send an intimate picture. Once the picture is received, the criminal threatens to
send the picture to the teen’s friends and family if they don’t send more pictures.
-
An ex-partner uses the threat of publishing explicit pictures to manipulate the victim to rejoin a
relationship.
-
Someone creates graphic AI-generated images or videos using the victim’s face and threatens to
put them on social media if they don’t pay a specified amount of money.
These scenarios can play out in an hour or less and can lead some children or teens to take their own lives.
Expert Insight: Who Are Sextortion Perpetrators?
Derek Benner
OUR Rescue Board Member
Derek Benner led the creation
of the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) Center for
Countering Human Trafficking
(CCHT)—the first unified,
inter-component coordination
center for countering human
trafficking. He currently serves
as the managing director,
federal law enforcement
and commercial at Thomson
Reuters Special Services.
Although some people are sextorted by people they know—
such as boyfriends or girlfriends—the majority of people
who target children in sextortion schemes are experienced
criminals trained to prey on vulnerable people.
The scammers are skilled experts
Derek Benner says, “[The perpetrators of Sextortion] are ruthless criminal
organizations that have existed for years. They are cyber criminals that
typically operate in regions (worldwide) that pose challenges for law
enforcement.”
“They most recently evolved into sextortion and blackmail by applying tactics
used in other fraud and scam activity,” he explains. “Before COVID, they were
primarily fraud and scam organizations that exploited vulnerable populations
through romance-based schemes, financial and investing schemes, and the
exploitation of public benefit programs.”
“These predators have a very distinct methodology for engaging potential
victims,” he says. “It’s really about social engineering an attempt to establish a
relationship. They try to form a connection or start a conversation via multiple
platforms. They will research public social media profiles to gather information
about their victims.”
“The biggest aspect of this campaign is to educate children,
parents, teachers, and other community leaders on how to avoid
falling prey to these criminal organizations.”
Sextortion became more prevalent during COVID
During the pandemic, kids were on their devices more often and parents were also adjusting to new at-home roles.
“Sextortion developed as criminal organizations and predators took advantage of the fact that children were
spending more time online,” says Benner. “They saw an opportunity and they pivoted very quickly. Anything and
everything is a tool for these criminal organizations. They are not constrained by lack of imagination. They are
merciless and persistent.”
The solution is a combination of law enforcement and education
“There have been a lot of successes on the law enforcement and prosecution side,” Benner explains. “Law
enforcement at all levels reacted to the new trend very quickly and dedicated more resources. There are many
good examples of predators being identified and extradited to the United States to face charges.”
“But law enforcement is not the silver bullet for this problem—it’s education,” says Benner. “The biggest aspect of
this campaign is to educate children, parents, teachers, and other community leaders on best practices on how
to avoid falling prey to these criminal organizations.”
How You Can Help
- Talk to your school administrators to create policies to address sextortion
- Contact your city leaders to provide education about sextortion in community
- Learn about revenge porn laws in your state
- Keep up with legislation and trends around AI generated images
5 Ways to Help Kids Recognize and Avoid Sextortion
DR. JORDAN GREENBAUM
SVP of Survivor Care at OUR Rescue
Dr. Jordan Greenbaum, former
Medical Director of the Global
Initiative for Child Health and
Well-Being at the International
Centre for Missing & Exploited
Children, spent her clinical career
caring for abused, exploited,
and trafficked children, and
providing international training
and technical assistance to
professionals in this field.
1. Introduce body safety and internet safety early
“Internet safety should be incorporated into general safety conversations
that starts at 3, 4, and 5 years old in developmentally appropriate ways,” says
Dr. Jordan Greenbaum. “If we wait until sextortion is starting to happen at
11-13-years-old, it’s too late.”
“For example, teaching four-year-olds the names of body private parts,
talking about the concept of boundaries for one’s own body, the boundaries
of someone else’s body, and the need for consent,” she says. “For example,
it’s okay to say ‘no’ to someone who wants to give you a hug, and you should
respect the rights of others who don’t want to be touched.”
“Start talking about getting online and internet safety as soon as children
begin to go online,” says Dr. Greenbaum.
“That way, by the time they begin to interact with others online, internet
safety has become routine, and they know that their bodies are their own,”
she adds. “[When kids] are clear about consent, it’s just part of the normal
routine. Your body is your own, whether it’s online or offline.”
2. Have regular conversations about internet safety and consent
Having regular conversations about children’s online activities is important. It’s
important to know what apps and games they have and how much time they
spend on it.
Once a week or so, have conversations about internet safety. Here are some discussion starters:
- What are your favorite apps? Why do you like them? Who is on them with you?
- Can you show me how to use your favorite app or play games you like online?
- Have you met new people online who have become friends? Tell me about them. How did you meet? What you
like/don’t like about the relationship?
- Has anyone you’ve talked to online ever asked you to do something that made you feel uncomfortable or bad?
- Let’s say they asked you to send them a photo of you naked, and that didn’t feel right to you. What could you
say to them? (Then, talk about ways to refuse the request.)
- If something happened online that made you feel bad, scared, or worried, what would you do? (Then talk about
the need to go to a trusted adult for help, even if the child feels responsible for what happened. Emphasize your
desire to protect and support the child if they are in distress.)
- Do you think sending pictures of your private parts to people you like is ok? Why or why not?
- Did you know that it is illegal to share nude photos of people under the age of 18, even if the person is ok with it?
Signs that a child may be at risk for sextortion
Tweens and teens love their privacy. But when kids take online privacy
to extremes, it might be a sign of sextortion.
Potential signs of online exploitation include:
- Being very secretive when online or hiding screens from adults.
- Sudden unexplained changes in behavior such as sadness, withdrawal, or difficulty controlling emotions.
- Becoming anxious or upset when receiving texts or other messages.
- Marked changes in internet behavior (e.g., major increases or sudden suspension of social media use).
3. Prepare kids for encounters with sextortionists online
“Parents (or trusted adults) need to acknowledge that children may find themselves in high-risk situations,” says
Dr. Greenbaum. “Children can meet people online in a number of ways. And very quickly the child may come to
view this person as friend, not a stranger.”
Dr. Greenbaum explains, “A person intending to exploit a child typically works to determine what the child needs
(or wants) and supplies that. You need love? I will give you love. Do you need someone to tell you you’re pretty?
I’ll tell you you’re pretty.”
Fulfilling needs and demonstrating interest and caring allows the offender to build trust with the child. Friendly
conversations can gradually become more sexualized, leading to requests for sexual photos or videos.
Teach kids to look for signs of scammers
Encourage teens and children to be suspicious of people who:
- Have profiles with no information, only one photo, or only a few friends or followers
- Give you lots of compliments and are interested in your activities
- Asks to talk on a different platform or app, instead of staying on the app where you met them
- Sends friend requests to multiple children in your school
- Requests personal information about you, such as your location or family members
- Offers to send you gifts
- Asks you for sexually explicit images
Encourage kids to ask a parent or trusted adult if they are unsure if someone is a scammer.
4. Help kids know what to say when asked for sexual imagery
When an “online friend” asks a child or teen for sexual photos there’s a lot of pressure to comply. Talk to your
children and teens about what they could say. For example, a kid could say:
- A firm “no way.”
- “I just don’t feel comfortable doing that.”
- “No, that’s not a smart thing to do.”
- “I don’t want my picture all over the internet.”
- “There are other ways to show that we like each other.”
- “I’ll send you something else, like a picture of my dog or a fun meme.”
5. Ensure your children know that you will stand by them
Although it’s hard to think of a child sending nude pictures to someone online, it can happen—even with the
most responsible kids. It’s critical to tell your kids that you will be in their corner, no matter what.
Tell children and teens:
- If you have sent pictures of your body to someone you met online, and something bad happens,
you can come to me.
- This can happen to anyone—even adults.
- I will support you.
- I won’t be angry. I won’t punish you.
- We’ll work together to get through it.
