Sextortion & blackmail

When sexual interaction becomes leverage. Photos, recordings or fake-relationship trust used to extract money, more intimate content, or both - and recurring scripts that show coordinated operation.

Report a concern in this area View the framework

What this covers

Scope of this assessment area

Sextortion is now one of the fastest-growing online crimes against adults and teenagers globally. Adult platforms sit at the entry point of many of these flows and can either block the pattern early or be the place it incubates.

Signals & indicators

What we look for

Observable patterns that trigger investigation under this area.

Rapid intimate-content escalationWithin minutes, ask for camera, then for explicit acts.

Fake romance / long-gameWeeks of 'relationship' before the threat is revealed.

Family-exposure threats'I will send this to your wife / your Facebook / your boss.'

Recurring 'support' requestsOnce paid, the same threats reappear days later.

Real-world identifiersReferences to your real name, employer, neighbourhood.

Coordinated wallet addressesSame crypto wallet appearing across many victims.

Family-exposure scriptsNear-identical wording used across hundreds of cases.

Public to private redirectionPulled out of public chat the moment content is captured.

Assessment framework

Criteria a platform is scored against

Each criterion is publicly defined and applied consistently across every platform we review.

Coercion-language detection

Models that flag classic sextortion scripts in DMs.

Leak-takedown speed

Hours-to-takedown SLAs for non-consensual intimate imagery.

Payment-fraud coordination

Live link with payment processors and crypto-tracing partners.

Victim-care guidance

Clear, in-product safe-stop advice - 'do not pay, do this instead'.

Shared sanction lists

Wallets / handles confirmed as sextortion shared between platforms.

Practical next steps

If you are affected - what to do first

Sequential, low-risk actions you can take right now.

STEP 01

Stop paying immediately

Payment almost never ends the threat - it confirms you will pay again.

STEP 02

Preserve every message

Including wallet addresses, account handles, payment receipts, screenshots.

STEP 03

Report to cyber-police

And to platform-specific sextortion teams (Meta, Google, Discord, Telegram).

STEP 04

Use NCMEC 'Take It Down'

Or StopNCII.org for adults - hash-based blocking of the content.

Have evidence in this area?

Submit confidentially - encrypted at rest, named reviewers only, you can submit anonymously.

Submit evidence How evidence is handled