What is online blackmail?
Online blackmail is when an offender threatens to share private information, images or videos of a person unless something is done for them in return.
Young people sometimes send nude images or videos to flirt or have fun with people they like online. Often, they believe that they won’t be shared any further and most of the time images and videos do stay private.
Unfortunately, there are some people online who may try to trick or pressure young people into sending nude images or videos of themselves. This can happen through any social media app, website or platform. Some offenders may produce digitally manipulated or AI-generated nude or semi-nude images or videos to carry out the blackmail.
Once an offender has a nude image or a video, they will threaten to share it unless the young person meets a demand, such as sending more nude content or meeting a financial demand, known as financially motivated sexual extortion.
It’s important to remember that a child is never to blame if they have been blackmailed online; the reality is that it could happen to anyone.
How does online blackmail happen?
Offenders who blackmail can be highly skilled and trick young people into sharing sexual content in a number of ways..
To get young people to share nude images or videos, offenders may:
- Pretend to be forming a real friendship or romantic relationship with the young person, this may include pretending to be another young person
- Give flattery and compliments, encoring a young person into being more open
- Offer something of value such as a modelling contract, money or online gaming credits
- Claim that they’ve hacked the child’s device and already have access to explicit and embarrassing content of them which they then threaten to share publicly, whether this is true or not.
Where can I get help if this has happened to my child?
If your child has told you that someone has contacted them online and is trying to trick, threaten, or blackmail them:
- Don’t respond. If someone is making threats or demands against your child, it is safer to advise them not to respond or communicate with them in any way.
- Block them. Advise your child to block the person on all accounts they have been contacting them on. It's a good idea not to delete anything that could be used as evidence against the blackmailer.
- Report it. Attempts of online blackmail should be reported to the police on 101 (or 999 if a child is in immediate risk of harm).
If online blackmail has happened to your child, there are steps you can take:
- Reassure them that they’ve done the right thing by telling you. It will have taken a lot of courage for your child to speak to you, They may be struggling with feelings of shame if they’ve been coerced into performing sexual acts or sharing images, and anxiety or fear about telling you. Make sure they know they’re not to blame and they have done the right thing seeking your help.
- If they have been blackmailed or sexually abused online report what has happened to the police on 101 or 999 if there is an immediate risk of harm to your child.
- If someone has shared an image or video of them online without their consent and they’re under 18 help to get them removed by taking these 3 steps:
- Use Report Remove, a tool from Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation. Your child can use this to remove images that have been shared or might be shared.
- Use Take It Down, a tool from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Your child can use this to remove or stop the online sharing of images or videos.
- Report it to the platform or app that the incident has occurred on. For advice on how to report to major social media platforms, visit Internet Matters.