Sextortion: What Every Parent Should Know
Understand how online blackmail works, what to do if your child is targeted, and how to help them feel safe enough to ask for support.
Sextortion is when someone threatens to share a private image of your child unless they pay money or send more images. Boys aged roughly 14 to 17 are frequently targeted, often by criminals posing as a girl of similar age on Snapchat, Instagram or gaming platforms.
How it usually works
The contact starts friendly and moves quickly to a private chat. Images are swapped, or the child is pressured into sending one. Then the demands begin, often with a countdown and threats to send the image to their friends and family.
What to say to your child now, before anything happens
Anyone can pretend to be anyone online. If someone pressures you for pictures, it is a red flag, not a romance. If it ever happens, you will not be in trouble, and telling a parent is always the right move.
If your child is being blackmailed
- Stay calm and reassure them. Shame is the criminal's biggest weapon. Let your child know you are glad they told you and that they are not to blame.
- Do not pay. Payment rarely ends it and usually leads to further demands.
- Stop contact, but do not delete anything. Take screenshots of messages, usernames and payment requests. Do not forward or share any intimate image.
- Report it. Use the CEOP reporting service, or call the police on 101. Call 999 if there is immediate danger.
- Get the image taken down. Childline's Report Remove tool helps under 18s request removal of nude images from the internet.
Support
Childline (0800 1111) is free and confidential for young people. Parents can call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000.
Keep listening and remind your child that they can come back to you at any point. You do not need to solve everything at once. A trusted adult or specialist service can help you decide the next safe step.