How to Avoid Blackmail and Sextortion

How it works

A scammer builds fast rapport, moves you off-platform, trades intimate images or a video call, then threatens to send them to your partner, employer or contacts unless you pay, often in crypto because it can't be reversed.

How to avoid it

• Don't send intimate images or do explicit video calls with someone you haven't verified.
• If you do, keep your face, tattoos and identifiable backgrounds out of frame.
• Don't link social accounts or share your contacts.
• Be suspicious of anyone who rushes intimacy or asks for crypto, gift cards or "verification" payments.
• Keep your real social accounts private and tidy.

If someone threatens you

1. Stop replying. Don't negotiate.
2. Don't pay. It usually leads to more demands.
3. Keep evidence. Screenshots, usernames, wallet addresses, messages.
4. Report it to the platform and the police. In the UK, contact Action Fraud or your local police.
5. Use takedown tools. StopNCII.org helps remove intimate images from major platforms.
6. Tighten your accounts. Change passwords, lock down social media.
7. Get support. Talking to someone helps, and the pressure is the point of the scam.

The uncomfortable truth

People in affairs are an easy target because they have something to lose. That's why this guide matters. Reporting is still worth it, and police take blackmail seriously whatever the backstory.