If a child is being threatened over images, they are the victim of a crime — not the one in trouble. Financial sextortion happens to tens of thousands of young people. There is a clear, calm set of steps below, and real help at the end. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911 now.
TRANSCRIPT Read what the audio says▸
Take a breath. This is fixable. If a child is being threatened over images, they are the victim of a crime. They are not the one in trouble. This happens to tens of thousands of young people, and there is a clear set of steps. Do not pay. Paying almost never makes it stop. Do not delete anything, because that is the evidence. Stop communicating with the person making the threats. Then block them, and report inside the app or platform where it happened. And report to N C M E C and the F B I. If money was already sent, that's okay. Keep the receipt and keep going. And when you talk to your child, lead with relief that they told you. Shame is the thing the offender is counting on. If anyone is in immediate danger, call nine one one right now.
Narrated by a rendered voice (Laura · eleven_v3), prepared ahead of time. Nothing is spoken live and nothing you do on this page is sent anywhere.
Five steps, in order
1 · Do not pay
Paying almost never makes it stop — it signals the victim will comply, and the demands usually continue. Already paid? You’ve done nothing wrong. Preserve the payment record; it’s evidence. Keep going with the steps below.
2 · Do not delete anything
Before blocking or closing anything, preserve it. Screenshot the messages, the threats, the demand for money, and the offender’s profile, username and any links. Deleting removes the evidence investigators need.
3 · Stop communicating with the offender
No replies, no negotiating, no explaining. Once evidence is saved, the young person should stop all contact — but not delete the account or the thread.
4 · Block, then report to the platform
After evidence is preserved, block the account and use the platform’s own reporting tool. Most major services have a dedicated path for threats and exploitation of minors.
5 · Report to NCMEC and the FBI, and get images stopped
Report to the NCMEC CyberTipline and to the FBI. If explicit images of a minor exist or were shared, use Take It Down to help stop their spread. The numbers and links are below.
- Screenshots of every message and threat — include dates and times if visible.
- The offender’s username, profile and display name — screenshot the profile page before blocking.
- The platform or app where it happened.
- Any payment demand, or payment sent — amount, method, wallet or account, receipts.
- Links, phone numbers or email addresses the offender used.
- Immediate danger
Emergency — 911
If the child is threatened with harm, or is talking about self-harm.
- Exploitation report
NCMEC CyberTipline
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
1-800-843-5678 · report.cybertip.org - Stop image spread
Take It Down
An NCMEC service to help remove or stop the spread of nude or partial images of a minor.
takeitdown.ncmec.org - Law enforcement
FBI
Report online crime and sextortion.
ic3.gov · 1-800-CALL-FBI
“I’m really glad you told me. You’re not in trouble, and this isn’t your fault. We’re going to handle this together.”
Blame and panic make a child shut down — and offenders count on that shame to keep them paying and silent. Lead with relief that they came to you. Make it clear that the adult in the situation committed the crime, not the child.
Reassure them that telling you was the brave, right move, and that the threats — “I’ll send this to everyone” — are the offender’s pressure tactic, not a certainty. The reporting steps above exist specifically to stop that spread.
NCMEC CyberTipline — 1-800-843-5678 · report.cybertip.org
Crisis — call or text 988