CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command)

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP) is a part of the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) that focuses on protecting children from sexual exploitation and abuse, including online offences. While CEOP's primary remit is child safeguarding, it is relevant in the context of consumer protection fraud because financially motivated sextortion — where offenders target young people and adults by threatening to release intimate images unless paid — is a major and growing fraud category handled by CEOP.

Children and young adults who are subjected to sextortion should report to CEOP via the ThinkUKnow.co.uk website, which is CEOP's education and reporting platform. Reports can be made by the victim, a parent, a teacher, or another responsible adult. CEOP investigates these cases and works with international law enforcement where perpetrators are overseas (sextortion is frequently conducted from West Africa and the Philippines).

For adult victims of sextortion fraud, reports should be made to Action Fraud and local police. CEOP is explicitly for cases involving people under 18 or where an offender is targeting a minor. Parents should also report to the platform where the contact occurred (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.) and seek support from organisations such as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) for image removal.