Sextortion Statistics
The FBI's IC3 received more than 75,000 sextortion submissions in 2025, while NCMEC logged over 50,000 financially motivated sextortion reports — an average of 137 a day.
Last reviewed: 20 July 2026
This page collects official figures on sextortion and financially motivated sextortion, the scam in which criminals obtain sexual images from a victim and then threaten to publish them unless they are paid. The data comes from three bodies that publish it directly: the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). IC3 received more than 75,000 submissions regarding sextortion in 2025.\n\nEvery figure here rests on voluntary reporting, and sextortion is among the least-reported crimes there is: shame, fear and confusion keep most victims silent, a point the FBI makes explicitly in its own report. IC3 and FinCEN figures are reported losses in U.S. dollars, and they capture money victims say they sent — not the wider harm, and not incidents reported to local police, to platforms, or to nobody at all. IC3 counts sextortion submissions separately from its broader Extortion crime type, and FinCEN's 2024 figure combines sextortion and extortion reports, so the two are not directly comparable.
Key figures
More than 75,000 submissions regarding sextortion
Sextortion submissions received by IC3 in 2025
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center — 2025 IC3 Annual Report (2025)
More than 5,700 submissions involving minors
Sextortion submissions involving minors that IC3 referred to NCMEC in 2025
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center — 2025 IC3 Annual Report (2025)
Nearly 55,000 reports, with financial losses totaling $33.5 million — a 59 percent increase in the number of reports received in 2023
Sextortion and extortion reports received by the FBI in 2024
Source: FinCEN Notice on Financially Motivated Sextortion (FIN-2025-NTC2) (2024)
Victims aged 60+: 6,121 reports and $14,894,547 in adjusted losses
Age group reporting the largest sextortion losses to IC3 in 2025
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center — 2025 IC3 Annual Report (2025)
11,316 reports and $1,297,653 in adjusted losses
Sextortion reports to IC3 from complainants under 20 in 2025
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center — 2025 IC3 Annual Report (2025)
At least 36 teenagers have taken their own lives in response to the threat of their sexually explicit images being leaked
Teenage suicides linked to sextortion threats, per NCMEC
Source: FinCEN Notice on Financially Motivated Sextortion (FIN-2025-NTC2), citing NCMEC testimony (2021–2025)
Key takeaways
- Paying does not end it. FinCEN and the FBI both state that cooperating with the perpetrator rarely stops the blackmail and harassment, and that perpetrators often continue demanding more payments after the first one.
- Demands are usually small, which is part of the trap. FinCEN reports payments from minors may be between $10-$50, while adult victims typically pay higher amounts from $500-$2,500.
- This is not only a teenage problem. IC3's 2025 data shows the largest number of sextortion reports came from the 20-29 age group (22,061), and the largest losses from victims aged 60+.
- Save everything before you block. The FBI advises saving the perpetrator's profile, messages and images, reporting the account to the platform, and asking a trusted adult or law enforcement for help.
- Beware the second scam. FinCEN warns that victims are further targeted by fake recovery experts, attorneys and law enforcement agents who charge high fees to supposedly retrieve the material.
Frequently asked questions
How many sextortion reports were filed in 2025?
The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 75,000 submissions regarding sextortion in 2025, and referred more than 5,700 submissions involving minors to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Separately, NCMEC itself received more than 50,000 reports of financially motivated sextortion in 2025, averaging 137 reports per day, up from more than 36,000 reports in 2024. Both counts depend entirely on voluntary reporting, so the true number of incidents is certainly higher.
How much money do sextortion scammers typically demand?
FinCEN reports that most victim payments are for relatively small amounts: payments from minors may be between $10-$50, whereas adult victims typically pay higher amounts from $500-$2,500. Perpetrators often open with a much larger demand and negotiate down, then keep demanding more after the first payment arrives. Victims are usually directed to pay through peer-to-peer payment apps, prepaid gift cards, money orders or cryptocurrency, often routed through money mules who take roughly a 20 percent cut.