Someone is threatening to share photos of me

Don’t pay. Then pick the one that fits.

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• An email says they recorded you and shows you nothing
• Someone has real photos or video of you, and you’re 18 or older
• You’re under 18, or the photos are from before you turned 18

If you’re thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988 now.

If someone has threatened to hurt you or is outside your home, call 911. An email with a photo of your house is the bluff below, not this.

If it’s happening now

An email says they recorded you

Don’t reply, don’t pay, and don’t open anything attached. If it only claims to have a video and shows you nothing real, it’s a bluff. The same message goes out to thousands of people.

• It shows a password you’ve used. It most likely came from a data breach, not from your computer. Change that password everywhere you still use it. For your email, set up a passkey or an authenticator app.
• It shows your address, phone number, or a photo of your house. That’s public information, and the house photo most likely comes from a street-view map. A line about visiting you is in the same mass email.
• It has a link or a QR code for the payment. Don’t tap or scan either.

Delete it. You’re done. If you want to, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

If it includes a nude or sexual image of you, real or faked, it isn’t a bluff. Go to 18 or older or under 18.

You’re 18 or older and they have photos or video

Same steps if it’s a fake made from your face.

1. Stop replying. Don’t pay and don’t send anything else. Paying doesn’t buy the images back. They can keep copies and ask again.
2. Save before you block. Screenshot the threats, their profile and username, and any payment details they sent, like a Cash App name or a crypto address. Don’t delete the chat or your account.
3. Report the account in the app, then block it.
4. Fingerprint the images at StopNCII.org. You need the photo or video on your device. It makes the fingerprint there, without uploading anything, and sites that take part use it to block copies. It works before anything is posted, but only on public posts, not private messages. Only for images taken when you were 18 or older.
5. Report it to the FBI at ic3.gov, and to your local police.
6. Tell someone you trust. The CCRI Crisis Helpline supports people dealing with sextortion and image abuse, 24 hours a day, for anyone in the US.

You’re under 18

This part is for you if the photos or video were taken before you turned 18, even if you’re older now.

You’re not in trouble. The FBI says teens in this spot are victims of a crime. The person threatening you is the one breaking the law.

1. Don’t pay. Don’t send more. Paying rarely makes them stop, and they often post anyway.
2. Screenshot their messages and their username. Not your photo. Don’t screenshot, save, or send that to anyone, even to report it.
3. Report the account in the app, then block it. Don’t delete your account or the chat. Police can use them to find the person.
4. Tell an adult you trust, today. A parent, an aunt or uncle, a coach, a school counselor. If there’s nobody, call NCMEC at 1-800-843-5678. Someone answers 24 hours a day.
5. Use Take It Down if the photo is still on your phone. It makes a fingerprint without sending the photo anywhere, and apps that take part use it to find copies and take them down. It can’t reach most private chats. You don’t have to give your name. If you don’t have the photo anymore, skip this. Don’t ask anyone to send it back. StopNCII is only for adults.
6. Report it to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. NCMEC passes it to the police who can act on it. Give their username, and the link if anything is posted. A parent can file it with you.

If you’re the parent. Start with: “Thank you for telling me. I’m not mad at you. We’re not paying. Let’s save the messages and report it together.” Don’t delete the app or the chat, because it’s evidence. Don’t screenshot or forward the photo yourself. Then go through the steps above together.

What to say

• Something happened online and I need your help. Someone has a picture of me and says they'll post it unless I pay. I haven't paid. Please don't be mad right now.

• I'm being extorted online. Someone's threatening to send intimate images of me to my contacts unless I pay. I've saved the messages and their username. I'd like to file a report and get a report number.

If something already left your hands

You paid

Don’t pay again. Call your bank or the payment app, using the number on your card or inside the app. For gift cards, call the number on the back of the card. Say it was extortion. Ask them to reverse the payment and to report the account you paid. A payment you sent yourself can count as authorized, and the money often isn’t refunded. If they say no, ask for the decision in writing, then file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Put the payment details in your FBI report. By payment method, including crypto: I paid or sent money.

You sent more photos or video

The steps don’t change. Stop now, and add the new ones to Take It Down or StopNCII.

It’s already posted

• Report each post on the site or app. Usually it’s in the three-dot menu. Choose the option about sharing private images without permission, not just “nudity.” Since May 19, 2026, platforms like social media, messaging, and photo and video sites must remove it, and known identical copies, within 48 hours of your request. AI-made fakes count too.
• Still up after 48 hours, or no way to ask? Report the platform to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.
• Under 18: add the link to your CyberTipline report, or file one now. Their analysts contact the companies and keep sending notices while they watch for it to come down.
• In Google results: use Google’s removal request for personal sexual content.

They got into your account

If the photos came from your own cloud or social account, someone may still be in it. The FBI says they get in by guessing passwords or texting fake “verification code” requests. Never read a code to anyone who contacts you. Change the password from a device you trust, sign out other devices, and set up a passkey or an authenticator app. Steps: Someone got into my account. Report the stolen images at ncii.ic3.gov.

What it looks like

7:04 a.m. This is in your inbox. You did use that password, for years.

Dana Whitlock - Tigger2014

M

Mark Delaney <[email protected]>

To: [email protected]

7:04 AM

Dana,

Is visiting 1418 Larkspur Ct a better way to reach you if you ignore this? Nice house. Photo attached.

I know your password: Tigger2014. I used it months ago to put Pegasus spyware on your phone and laptop. Since then I've had your camera, your microphone, and your browsing history.

I have video of you watching adult sites, side by side with what you were watching. One click and it goes to every contact in your phone and every friend on your Facebook.

Send $1,950 in Bitcoin to this address:
bc1qz8m4t0wq3n7xk2yd5vh6c9lr0pj4es8ug2fa7

You have 48 hours. I can see when you open this email. Don't reply, this address doesn't take replies. If I see you've told anyone, the video goes out the same minute.

The password is real, and so is your address. What do you do?

• Open the attachment to see if it's really your house
• Reply and ask them to prove they have a video
• Change that password everywhere you still use it, then delete the email
• Tape over your camera and run a virus scan

Show the answers

• Wrong move Open the attachment to see if it's really your house The attachment is the one part of the email that could put something on your computer. The photo is from a street-view map anyone can pull up.
• Wrong move Reply and ask them to prove they have a video A reply tells them a scared person reads this address. You'll get more emails, not proof.
• Best move Change that password everywhere you still use it, then delete the email The FTC calls the claims about your computer and camera "all talk." The password most likely came from a data breach. It's the one part that can still hurt you, if you still use it somewhere.
• Okay Tape over your camera and run a virus scan Harmless. But nothing in the email shows they were ever on your computer, and the password is still out there.

A real password and your address make it feel personal. The password usually comes from a breach, the address from public records. Change the password and delete the email. Colorado's attorney general says to delete these too.

11:52 p.m. You sent a photo to someone you'd been messaging for two days.

Instagram Lexi

11:52 PM

i screenshotted ur followers. ur mom ur brother ur whole school

send $500 on cash app or i post ur pic to all of them

u have 30 min

please dont. i dont have 500

then send what u have. 150 now

and if u block me i post it right away

What do you do?

• Send the $150 so they'll stop
• Delete your Instagram so they can't reach your followers
• Screenshot the chat, report and block them, and tell an adult
• Tell them you'll pay tomorrow, to buy time

Show the answers

• Wrong move Send the $150 so they'll stop NCMEC says paying rarely stops it, and the FBI says they often post the photos even after a payment.
• Wrong move Delete your Instagram so they can't reach your followers They already have the list. Deleting your account also deletes the messages police can use to find them. NCMEC says block, don't delete.
• Best move Screenshot the chat, report and block them, and tell an adult That's what NCMEC tells teens to do. Screenshot their messages and username, not your photo. Then use Take It Down, if the photo is still on your phone, so apps that take part can find copies and take them down.
• Wrong move Tell them you'll pay tomorrow, to buy time Stalling tells them you're going to pay. They push harder, and you're still talking to them.

They might post whether you block them or pay them. Save the chat, report, block, and tell an adult. If anything gets posted, report it in the app. Apps like Instagram have to take it down within 48 hours of your request.

You're an adult being threatened over a photo. Last night you searched for help and filled in a contact form on one of the first results. This arrives in the morning.

Re: Your sextortion case - action required

C

Case Response Team <[email protected]>

To: [email protected]

8:15 AM

Hello,

We received your request. We are a cyber investigations firm that works alongside law enforcement, and our analysts have already identified the account threatening you.

We can locate the extortionist, serve a legal cease-and-desist, and remove your images from all platforms within 24 hours.

To open your case today, a $1,200 retainer is required. Please sign the attached service agreement and pay by card or Zelle.

Please do not contact police at this stage. Police reports become public records and can cause the images to spread.

Call us any time at (415) 555-0163.

What do you do?

• Pay the retainer. Getting it down fast matters most
• Ask for references and read the agreement before paying
• Don't reply. Use StopNCII and report the account yourself

Show the answers

• Wrong move Pay the retainer. Getting it down fast matters most The FBI warns about companies that charge sextortion victims, push them away from police, and in some cases seem to be part of the extortion.
• Wrong move Ask for references and read the agreement before paying A contract and payment up front are two of the warning signs the FBI lists. References can be invented.
• Best move Don't reply. Use StopNCII and report the account yourself StopNCII, the app's report button, and reports to the FBI cost nothing. The FBI says the cease-and-desist letters these companies sell aren't legally enforceable.

StopNCII, the FBI, and the app's report button are free. A company that wants money up front and tells you to skip the police is a second scam.

What they’ll ask for

“Send $500 or I post it to everyone you follow.” Don’t. Paying rarely stops it, and they may post anyway.

“Send one more and I’ll delete everything.” You can’t check that anything got deleted. More photos give them more to use.

“Don’t tell anyone. You’ll get in trouble too.” The FBI says young people in this spot are crime victims and should report it.

“We’re a removal service. $1,200 and it’s gone in 24 hours.” The FBI warns about companies that charge sextortion victims and steer them away from police. Take It Down, StopNCII, NCMEC, and the report button are free. More: Someone offers to get my money back.