Sextortion

Sextortion is a form of extortion. Someone claims to possess intimate photos or videos of a person. They then demand money, usually in digital currency substitutes like Bitcoin, or demand further images. Those who don’t pay are threatened: the images will be sent to family, friends, and classmates. The word is a combination of the English “sex” and “extortion.” In many cases, the alleged images don’t exist at all – the threat alone is often enough for the perpetrators.

Why young people are especially affected

Sextortion affects all age groups, but especially often young people between 13 and 20. Investigators in Germany, the USA, and Australia have reported sharply rising case numbers for several years. The reason is simple: perpetrators contact thousands of people at once. It only takes a small fraction to respond.

The dangerous thing about sextortion is not primarily the financial loss. It is the shame. Many victims don’t dare talk to parents or teachers. They keep paying in silence – and the demands don’t stop. This is exactly what the perpetrators count on.

In several countries, there have been cases where young people took their own lives. Police and counseling centers therefore emphasize a single central piece of advice: don’t pay, talk to an adult immediately, and file a report. Extortionists almost never stop after the first payment.

From fake profile to threatening message

The classic sequence begins with a fake profile on a social network. Behind it is often a gang operating out of Nigeria, Morocco, or the Philippines. What appears to be a friendship or flirtation develops. After a short time, the conversation shifts to a video chat, and the victim is talked into intimate footage. This is secretly recorded – hours later, the threat arrives.

There is also a pure bluff variant. Mass-sent emails claim that malware has secretly activated the webcam. As proof, the email often contains a real password. However, this only comes from an old data leak in which login credentials for an online service were stolen. In these cases, recordings practically never exist.

New is the role of AI. So-called deepfakes are images or videos generated with software that show a real person, even though the scene never took place. A normal portrait photo from a public profile is enough for this. Perpetrators therefore no longer need any real material to make a credible threat. At the same time, chatbots help write in fluent German – the language errors once typical of such messages are disappearing.

In the headlines and in legislation

Sextortion regularly appears in news about platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. Meta and Snap are under pressure to further restrict contact attempts by strangers toward minors. Instagram now automatically blurs nude images in direct messages to young people. The American FBI and the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) also publish their own warnings on the topic.

Legally, the matter is clear. In Germany, sextortion is punishable as extortion, and additional criminal offenses apply when minors are involved. Since 2024, the distribution of faked nude images has also been the subject of several legislative initiatives in the EU and the USA. Victims do not make themselves liable to prosecution, even if they sent the images voluntarily.

A common misconception: sextortion is often confused with revenge porn. In that case, an ex-partner publishes real footage out of revenge. Sextortion, by contrast, targets money or further images, and the perpetrators usually don’t know their victims personally at all. Help in Germany is offered, among others, by the Nummer gegen Kummer helpline and the counseling service JUUUPORT.