Guide
Sextortion: What to Do If You Are Being Blackmailed
Calm, practical steps for right now, who can help, and how to get an image taken down.
Sextortion is blackmail with an intimate image, or the threat of one. Do not pay and do not delete anything. Stop replying, keep every message as evidence, and report it to the platform and the police. Specialist help exists, and the police take reports from everyone. None of this is your fault.
Stop, do not pay, and do not delete anything. Police Scotland notes that someone who has been paid might still share the images or ask for more. Deleting the chat or your account destroys the evidence, so save it first, then block.
What to do right now
These five steps follow Police Scotland’s sextortion advice and the US Federal Trade Commission’s May 2026 guidance.
Keep the evidence
Screenshot the messages, the profile, the demand and any payment details. Note the platform, the date and the username.
Stop contact
Once everything is saved, block the person and ignore further contact. Never give them access to your accounts or devices.
Do not pay
Refuse every demand. If you have already paid, tell your bank straight away, using the number on your card: the UK government’s fraud advice campaign says what you can get back depends on how you paid.
Report it to the platform
Use the report tool on the site or app where it happened. On British Sex Contact, report them from inside the site and ask support, by chat and messaging at any hour, about a takedown. The safety page lists the tools.
Tell the police and a helpline
Police Scotland takes reports online, by phone or in person; elsewhere in the UK, use your local force. Call 999 if anyone is in immediate danger. Then pick a helpline below and tell someone you trust.
Who can help
Who can help, and what each one does
| Who | What they do | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| The site or app | Takes your report and can remove content that breaks its rules. Here: blocking, reporting, a takedown process and support by chat and messaging at any hour. | Anyone, wherever it began |
| The police | Take reports of blackmail and threats to share images. Police Scotland strongly recommends reporting sextortion. | Everyone |
| Revenge Porn Helpline | A UK service run by the charity SWGfL for adults facing intimate image abuse, including sextortion and threats to share. Contact it through its website. | Adults aged 18 and over in the UK |
| StopNCII | A tool run by the Revenge Porn Helpline. It makes a digital fingerprint of your image on your own device, so participating platforms can find matches and remove those that break their rules. It costs nothing to use. | Adults who are in the image, were 18 or over when it was taken and still have it |
Report Fraud, run by City of London Police, takes reports of fraud and cyber crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Police Scotland also lists The Cyber Helpline for adults and Samaritans for anyone in distress.
The pattern
How sextortion usually unfolds
Ofcom’s May 2026 guidance says its research indicates dating services carry a higher risk of fraud, intimate image abuse and sextortion.
It starts like any chat. The FBI’s 2025 internet crime report says it can begin on any website, app, messaging service or game, more often with someone who seems to be your own age and keen on you. Adults of all ages are targeted.
A fast move to another app. Police Scotland lists rapid escalation and a request to message elsewhere as signs. ODDA, the Online Dating and Discovery Association, a trade body for dating services, says scammers often push people off the platform quickly.
The image. Real or faked, it becomes the lever: Police Scotland says the person may use AI to make fake videos of you.
The demand. Money, or more pictures. The FBI says shame, fear and confusion often stop people reporting, and ODDA tells victims not to feel shame or hide the truth. Ignore anyone offering to recover your money for a fee: genuine agencies never charge upfront, says the UK government’s fraud advice campaign.
Lower the risk
Habits that make a blackmail attempt harder
- Keep early chat on the site. Blocking and reporting are close, and the off-site alert warns you when a chat is steered elsewhere. See sex chat for how messages work.
- Ask for a live video chat, on an app you choose, before you go further. City of London Police’s May 2026 release treats excuses for dodging one as a warning sign.
- Keep intimate images faceless. Our sexting tips cover what to leave out of a picture.
- Be wary of secrecy. ODDA treats a request to keep the connection secret as a big warning sign, so tell a friend if a chat feels off.
More traps are in dating scams in the UK, the first meet is in meeting a hookup safely, and every guide is on the guides page.
The law
What the law says about sharing or threatening to share images
England and Wales
Since 31 January 2024, under offences added by the Online Safety Act 2023, it is an offence to share an intimate image of someone without consent, to share one to cause alarm, distress or humiliation or for sexual gratification, or to threaten to share one. For a threat, prosecutors need not show the image exists. The more serious versions carry up to two years in prison.
Scotland
Police Scotland says it does not matter if you shared something with consent: if someone misuses it or threatens to share it, it is a crime.
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 makes it an offence to share, or threaten to share, a private sexual image to cause distress.
The Revenge Porn Helpline’s own site says intimate image abuse is against the law in the UK. Ofcom’s May 2026 guidance expects dating services to offer a reporting tool and quick takedown of content they have reason to believe is illegal. Ofcom says it cannot look into individual complaints, so your first report goes to the service itself.
This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, speak to the police or a solicitor.
Sextortion questions, answered
What is sextortion?
Blackmail that uses intimate images, or the threat of sharing them, usually to get money or more images. Police Scotland describes someone threatening to share intimate images, videos or information about a person online. It can start on any site, app or game.
Should I pay?
No. Police Scotland warns that people who pay might still have their images shared or be asked for more. If you have already paid, tell your bank straight away. Be wary of any firm offering to remove images for a fee: in October 2026 the US Federal Trade Commission warned that some falsely promise to stop sextortion threats.
Can the police help?
Yes. Police Scotland strongly recommends reporting sextortion, and your local force takes reports elsewhere in the UK. Hand over the screenshots, usernames, dates and platform you saved. Call 999 if anyone is in immediate danger.
How do I remove an intimate image that has been shared?
Report it to the site or app where it appears, which StopNCII’s FAQ says comes first. Adults can then add the image to StopNCII so participating platforms can find copies, though it cannot reach the whole internet. The Revenge Porn Helpline also supports adults in the UK.
What if the image was taken before you were 18, or the other person seems under 18?
StopNCII’s FAQ sends images taken before someone turned 18 to a separate service, Take It Down. This site is for adults only, so report any profile involving someone under 18.
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