Online blackmail and sextortion: what to do right now
Someone is threatening to release images or information unless you pay. These steps limit the damage.
Sextortion and online blackmail are run at scale by organised groups. Victims include adults, teenagers and business owners. It is a crime, and you are not at fault.
Do not pay
Payment rarely ends it. It shows the blackmailer that you will pay, and the demands usually grow.
Stop responding, but keep everything
Do not delete the conversation. Take screenshots of the profile, the messages, the payment details they gave and any usernames or links. Then stop replying.
Lock down your accounts
Set social profiles to private, hide your friends list and warn close contacts not to open messages from unknown accounts.
Report it
- Report the account to the platform
- File a report with the FBI at ic3.gov and with local police
- If the victim is under 18, use the Take It Down service run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Adults can use StopNCII.org to help block images from being posted on participating platforms
The law
Threatening to release intimate images to get money or more images is a crime under Texas and federal law. Platforms covered by the federal Take It Down Act must remove such images within 48 hours of a valid request.
How a lawyer helps
By sending removal and preservation demands, dealing with platforms and police for you, and acting quickly if anything is published.
This article is general information about the law. It is not legal advice and reading it does not make you a client of the firm. Laws change, so speak to a lawyer about your own situation.