Sextortion has rapidly evolved into one of the most pervasive cybercrimes in recent years. The threats are chilling: individuals, often minors, are coerced into sending compromising material of a sexual nature, only to have that material weaponized against them.
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The schemes are usually financially motivated, with the blackmailer demanding money transfers, gift cards, or sometimes cryptocurrency.
As more people fall prey to these crimes, there is a recurring question—do blackmailers actually follow through on their threats? To answer this, it’s important to explore the dynamics of sextortion, examine recent data, and offer guidance on how to deal with such situations.
The Modern Face of Sextortion
The internet has dramatically expanded the scope and scale of sextortion. With an estimated 5.45 billion people online, more individuals are exposed to cybercrimes like sextortion than ever before.
Originally, sextortion was typically confined to email phishing scams or intimate partner threats. However, the rise of social media, webcam-enabled devices, and encrypted messaging platforms has provided sextortionists with new, more invasive methods for targeting victims. The crime can start out seeming like a friendly interaction.
So how long does sextortion last? It’s common for the online relationship to evolve over several days or weeks, sometimes even months, as the blackmailer first strives to gain the victim’s trust. However, the sextortion attempt itself can happen very quickly —even in as little as five minutes after the blackmailer has received the material.
The latest sextortion statistics are disturbing. Recent trends indicate a shift toward more vulnerable populations, particularly teenagers and young adults. In the last year, the FBI saw a 45% increase in reported sextortion cases involving minors, a trend they are addressing by collaborating with tech companies to shut down accounts used for such schemes.
In recent times, teenage boys between 14 and 17 have been the most frequent target of financial sextortion schemes, according to the FBI.
For financially motivated sextortion, offenders are generally based outside the United States and most often in West African countries such as Ivory Coast or Nigeria, or Southeast Asian nations like the Philippines.
US media recently covered the case of Olamide Shanu, a 33-year-old Nigerian national, who allegedly extorted £2,000,000 by threatening to release explicit photos of boys. Shanu was arrested last year following an extradition request from the United States.
In July, Meta confirmed that it had deleted over 63,000 sextortion scam accounts from Instagram, as well as 2,500 from Facebook – all originating from a Nigerian cybercrime gang known as the Yahoo Boys.
Sextortionists often create a sense of urgency, pushing their victims to react quickly. This phenomenon is no longer limited to email scams; today, criminals are using social media, text messaging, and even gaming platforms to exploit individuals.
The availability of these technologies has significantly increased the reach and frequency of these attacks, leaving almost anyone with an internet connection vulnerable.
The Personalized Threats
While the basic premise of sextortion remains the same—using intimate or compromising material to extort a victim—the strategies employed by sextortionists have grown more sophisticated.
As highlighted in recent reports, many criminals now personalize their threats by incorporating the victim’s personal information, such as their home address or social media data, into the blackmail message.
A report from Krebs on Security noted a worrying trend in which sextortionists now use online mapping applications to send victims a photo of their home, alongside threats of releasing explicit material.
This blend of digital and physical intimidation creates a heightened sense of danger for victims. Many report that personalized threats, such as knowledge of where they live, significantly escalate the psychological pressure, making them more likely to comply.
However, law enforcement agencies emphasize that most of these threats are bluffs. The sextortionist typically lacks the technical resources to monitor webcams or capture explicit material in the first place. Instead, they rely on psychological manipulation, assuming that fear will prompt victims into paying ransoms or complying with their demands.
Do Blackmailers Follow Through?
One of the biggest fears surrounding sextortion is whether these criminals will actually follow through on their threats. The answer, more often than not, is no. Studies and real-world evidence indicate that most sextortionists, particularly those involved in large-scale email scams, are bluffing.
They rely on the fear and panic they create, hoping to pressure their victims into quick compliance.
Once they receive payment, they often disappear. According to the FBI, perpetrators rarely follow through if their demands are unmet, since their primary goal is financial gain, not dissemination of material. This is corroborated by various digital risk protection agencies, which emphasize that paying ransom often encourages further demands.
The Psychological Toll and Stigma
While sextortionists might not always follow through, the psychological toll on victims is immense. Victims frequently report feelings of isolation, shame, and fear. In some cases, this emotional burden can lead to devastating outcomes, including suicide.
This is especially true among teenagers, where the fear of social rejection or family disappointment amplifies the perceived gravity of the threat. In some cases, this emotional weight becomes unbearable.
The psychological impact of sextortion cannot be overstated. A growing body of research points to the long-term mental health consequences faced by victims, including anxiety, depression, and, tragically, suicide. Law enforcement has tracked roughly 12,600 sextortion victims over the last 18 months, including at least 20 children who committed suicide.
Many of these suicides involved teenagers who were manipulated into sending intimate images by criminals pretending to be someone their age. The immediate shame and fear of exposure led them to believe that their only way out is to end their lives.
This is why experts stress that victims should never engage with sextortionists or comply with their demands. Paying a ransom or sending additional material often leads to further exploitation. Criminals tend to keep coming back, demanding more money or images, perpetuating the cycle of abuse.
According to the FBI, the key to ending sextortion lies in swift reporting and cutting off all communication with the perpetrators.
What To Do if You’ve Been Sextorted
In many cases, victims are initially unaware of what’s happening. The blackmailer’s requests for images or videos may start subtly but gradually become more explicit, sometimes with offers of reciprocation (“I’ll show you if you show me”). Once they possess a compromising image or video, the threats and extortion can commence.
It’s crucial to understand that none of this is your fault. To combat sextortion, regain control by immediately ceasing all communication. If you or someone you know is being threatened or blackmailed online, there are resources and support available—you don’t have to face this alone.
Here’s what you can do:
- Stop interacting with the blackmailer immediately, whether the extortion is happening online or in person—even if the threats persist.
- Do not send money or give in to any of the blackmailer’s demands. Giving in rarely makes the threats stop; it may actually encourage them to ask for more.
- Gather evidence. Record usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, and bank details. Save URL links where your information or images may have been posted. Afterward, change your passwords.
- Block the blackmailer, but don’t delete your profile or any messages.
- Report the incident to the platform. This removal guide offers steps for reporting across many major sites. Most social platforms have policies against sharing explicit content without permission, and you should be able to request its removal.
- Report the incident. Contact us, or call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. You can also file a report online at tips.fbi.gov. Alternatively, you could contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline service, and the Department for Homeland Security will compile a report for the relevant law enforcement agency.
- Keep in mind that this will pass. You will make it through this difficult time.
It’s essential to stress again: do NOT pay or comply with the blackmailer’s demands. While it may feel like giving in will resolve the issue, it often leads to further threats and increased demands.
If you’ve already paid, consider informing your bank. They may not be able to recover the funds, but it’s important for banks and authorities to know this has occurred.
In addition to contacting the platform, adults can assist young people in removing explicit content using NCMEC’s Take It Down service. This system works by attributing a unique digital fingerprint, known as a hash value, to the explicit images or videos. Online platforms then use those hash values to detect the content and remove it.
If you’re uncomfortable taking action directly, then Digital Investigation can help. Our trained counselors will listen to your story and manage the process on your behalf in total confidentiality.
The Victims: Vulnerability and Patterns
The targeting of minors in sextortion schemes has become alarmingly common. What was once primarily a crime affecting adults has shifted, with children as young as 11 becoming the targets of these attacks.
Data released by the IWF shows that there has been a 2,600% increase in sextortion cases involving girls in the first half of the year, a shocking rise from previous years. This shift represents a broader trend where sextortionists are diversifying their targets and adopting more aggressive tactics.
Experts note that young people are particularly vulnerable because they are more likely to be using social media platforms where these scams take place. Furthermore, minors often lack the experience and awareness to recognize the signs of manipulation before it’s too late.
Predators posing as peers or romantic interests manipulate them into sharing explicit images, which are then used as blackmail. The long-term psychological effects on minors can be devastating, making it imperative for parents, schools, and governments to increase awareness and implement stronger protective measures.
Sextortion has become a large-scale operation run from locations all over the world. In March, the Ogoshi brothers were sentenced in the U.S. for sextortion-related crimes that led to the death of a 17-year-old boy. They lured the Michigan-based victim into sending explicit images by pretending to be a girl his own age.
Tragically, within hours of being targeted on Instagram, Jordan DeMay took his own life.
How Law Enforcement and Communities Are Fighting Back
Law enforcement agencies are stepping up their efforts to tackle the crime. This FBI page shows arrests from all over the US, including Virginia, Delaware, and Hawaii.
The New York State Police has warned the public of a nationwide automated sextortion scam in which scammers use people’s email addresses to extort money using intimidation and threats of embarrassment.
Some states are advancing laws to ban non consensual distribution of sexual images.
However, fighting sextortion requires a multifaceted approach involving education, vigilance, and support networks. Schools play a vital role in educating students about online dangers, while parents must engage in open and ongoing conversations with their children about the risks of sharing personal information or images.
It’s a good thing, then, that support groups are growing and we have seen more public awareness campaigns recently. For example, Stop Sextortion was launched in Florida schools, and the Be Smart program dispatched subject matter experts to help school boards and districts in the Jacksonville area.
The idea is to warn teenagers about the dangers of sextortion and encourage victims to come forward without fear of stigma or judgment.
Another advocacy group, ParentsTogether Action, helps parents who have been harmed by social media, including those whose children have been victims of sextortion. It has 3 million members.
The FBI has emphasized that sextortion victims must not give in to the demands of blackmailers. Its data reveals that the majority of criminals cease their threats once their initial demands are ignored.
The Role of Tech Companies in Tackling Sextortion
Tech companies bear a significant responsibility in curbing the spread of sextortion. Social media platforms, messaging apps, gaming networks, live streaming and video platforms are the primary hunting grounds for these criminals.
In recent years, platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp have introduced new features aimed at protecting users from exploitation. Instagram, for example, now allows users to blur images sent by unknown accounts, while Snapchat has introduced AI-driven filters to detect and block suspicious activity.
Despite these efforts, many argue that tech companies still need to do more. Privacy settings are often confusing or buried deep within user interfaces, and the speed at which predators can create new accounts makes enforcement challenging.
The widespread use of encryption in apps like WhatsApp also complicates efforts to track criminals, as law enforcement cannot always access critical data in real-time.
If you believe you’re a victim of sextortion on WhatsApp – contact us.
The Path Forward: Educating and Supporting Victims
As incidents of sextortion continue to rise, the need for awareness and education becomes ever more critical. WeProtect released a briefing to outline some ideas as to how the threat can be tackled more effectively. One suggestion is that governments and NGOs must collaborate to create more programs that educate young people on the dangers of sextortion.
The good news is that cross-country collaborative efforts are already gaining momentum. For example, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has partnered with the FBI to establish a cybercrime research lab, designed to boost Nigeria’s ability to prevent, identify, and prosecute financial crimes.
Meta announced it was testing new tools aimed at enhancing the protection of younger users. One of these initiatives involves sharing data on accounts involved in sexual extortion with other tech companies through Lantern53, a cross-platform information-sharing program led by the Tech Coalition.
There are additional measures that social media platforms might use to stop extortion. For instance, setting accounts for users under 18 to private by default would greatly reduce their visibility to potential predators. Moreover, algorithms should be designed to avoid prompting younger users to connect with strangers or encouraging them to disclose personal details.
So, will blackmailers follow through? In general, no. However, at Digital Intelligence, we are well aware that the fear they induce is substantial – leading many victims to feel powerless and alone. To save lives, it’s crucial to remove the stigma surrounding this damaging cybercrime.
If you have been a victim, please get in touch.
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