Sextortion involves threats to release intimate material and can use compromised accounts, stolen data, or coercion to harm victims.
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Background for this topic.
Sextortion is coercion using actual or alleged intimate images, video, or sexual information: an offender threatens to publish or send it to contacts unless the victim pays, provides more material, or complies with another demand. Online cases may begin with grooming, a fake relationship, phishing, or account takeover; the content may be stolen, obtained through deception, or fabricated. Cases involving minors require especially careful safeguarding and legal handling.
For security teams, the key risks are compromise of private accounts and devices, exposure of contact lists or cloud-stored media, and rapid redistribution after an initial threat. Defenses include unique passwords, phishing-resistant multifactor authentication where available, updated devices, and limiting public profile and contact information; these reduce access but cannot guarantee prevention. When reported, preserve messages, URLs, payment details, and relevant logs without forwarding intimate material, avoid paying or negotiating, secure affected accounts, and use appropriate platform, law-enforcement, and safeguarding channels. Organizations should restrict access to victim data and document its handling to protect privacy.
Weekly headline count for the current query.
A Canadian man was sentenced to 33 years in prison after pleading guilty to targeting more than 145 children across the United States, some as young as 6 years old, in an eight-year-long sextortion scheme. [...]
An Illinois man pleaded guilty to hacking nearly 600 women's Snapchat accounts to steal nude photos that he kept, sold, or traded online, including accounts he compromised at the request of a former university track coach who was later convicted of sextortion. [...]
Free Stealerium Malware Grabs Desktop and Webcam Images When NSFW Content DetectedBlackmailers have long spammed internet users, claiming to have captured images of them accessing adult content. Lately, these sextortion criminals have a new trick up their sleeve: the real thing, thanks to information-stealing malware with a NSFW content trigger to grab webcam and desktop images.
Cybercrime accounts for more than 30% of all reported crime in East Africa and West Africa, with online scams, ransomware, business email compromise, and digital sextortion taking off.
Blackmailed teen allegedly scared into carving his handle onto her arm The FBI has filed an affidavit detailing how it identified a US Navy man who was allegedly distributing child sex abuse material (CSAM) through Discord.…
The UK’s National Crime Agency has launched a new campaign designed to raise awareness of sextortion among teenage boys
The Microsoft 365 Admin Portal is being abused to send sextortion emails, making the emails appear trustworthy and bypassing email security platforms. [...]
Instagram has announced new security features to protect users from sextortion scams, including hiding follower lists, preventing screenshots, and launching an awareness campaign
Attackers use Google Street View images to put pressure on victims of “sextortion” scams
A new variant of the ongoing sextortion email scams is now targeting spouses, saying that their husband or wife is cheating on them, with links to the alleged proof. [...]
A new variant of the ongoing sextortion email scams is now targeting spouses, saying that their husband or wife is cheating on them, with links to the alleged proof. [...]
An old but persistent email scam known as "sextortion" has a new personalized touch: The missives, which claim that malware has captured webcam footage of recipients pleasuring themselves, now include a photo of the target's home in a bid to make threats about publishing the videos more frightening and convincing.
Meta Platforms on Wednesday said it took steps to remove around 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria that were found to target people with financial sextortion scams
Crypto theft, sextortion tactics, swattings, and ransomware: teenagers are increasingly taking up cybercrime for fun and profit — and experts credit an array of contributing factors.
The Tinder-like app has countered claims of being a hot spot for sextortion scammers
Nigeria-based cybercriminals known as Yahoo Boys are the main drivers of a financial sextortion increase on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, targeting English-speaking teenagers
A six-month-long international police operation codenamed HAECHI-IV has resulted in the arrests of nearly 3,500 individuals and seizures worth $300 million across 34 countries
A new sextortion scam is making the rounds that pretends to be an email from the adult site YouPorn, warning that a sexually explicit video of you was uploaded to the site and suggesting you pay to have it taken down. [...]
A new sextortion scam is making the rounds that pretends to be an email from the adult site YouPorn, warning that a sexually explicit video of you was uploaded to the site and suggesting you pay to have it taken down. [...]
Emails use social engineering to con victims