Sextortion
Blackmail using intimate images or recordings — real, staged, or fabricated — to extort money or further material from the victim under threat of exposure.
Also known as: sexual extortion, webcam blackmail
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Sextortion involves threatening to release intimate images or recordings of the victim unless demands are met — typically money or more intimate material. There are several distinct types:
In 'webcam sextortion', a fraudster builds a relationship online, persuades the victim to appear naked on video (which is recorded without consent), then immediately demands payment to suppress the footage. In 'hacking sextortion', mass-sent emails falsely claim the sender has secretly recorded the victim through their webcam and demands Bitcoin payment — in reality, no footage exists.
With deepfake technology, attackers now create non-consensual intimate imagery from ordinary social media photos, creating a new variant that victimises people who never sent or created any intimate images. Sextortion causes severe psychological harm. Victims should contact police, not pay, and report to platforms immediately.
Sources
- FBI — Sextortion — Federal Bureau of Investigation
- IC3 — For-Profit Companies Charging Sextortion Victims for Assistance and Using Deceptive Tactics to Elicit Payments — FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
- NCMEC — Take It Down — National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
- National Crime Agency — Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion (Sextortion) — National Crime Agency (UK)