More and more young people are connecting with others online. This could be through chatting with friends, sharing photos and videos, meeting new people, or gaming. While these online activities are mostly for entertainment and fun, there are also potential risks that come with it.
Traditionally, we were warned about “stranger danger”, but social interactions have changed in the digital age. Nowadays, it’s very common for young people to meet new people online, and according to Thorn’s research, they don’t see these individuals as “strangers” even though they have never met them in real life. This redefinition of “stranger” combined with the ability of bad actors to pretend to be someone else in digital spaces creates the perfect circumstance for someone to blackmail a young person with nude photos (a.k.a. sextortion).
Sextortion can start out friendly, with a mutual online friend, a compliment in a DM, or someone you know from an online game. The relationship may develop over a period of time, as the blackmailer works to gain your trust. Requests for images and videos may get more explicit or include promises of reciprocation. Once they have a nude or nearly nude photo or video of you, the threats and blackmail can begin.
Here are some steps to stop sextortion:
- Do not pay money or otherwise comply with the blackmailer
- Talk with someone you trust
- Save everything
- Block the blackmailer, but do not delete your profile or messages
- Report sextortion to the platform
- Report sextortion to NCMEC’s Cybertipline
- Change all of your passwords
Sextortion is illegal and can be scary and upsetting, but there are many people you can go to for help, such as parents/guardians, family members, teachers, or other trusted adults in your life. Be sure to block the offending account but don’t delete any communications. Instead, save texts, pictures, videos, websites, etc. and report the situation to the appropriate authorities.