Sextortion reports involving children more than doubled in six months
Reports of online sextortion involving children are rising sharply, with 462 reports to the Report Remove service in the first six months of the year, more than the 394 recorded across the whole of last year. The figures highlight how criminals threaten to publish children’s nude images to demand money, and have renewed calls for faster action from technology companies and the Government.
Most reports involved 14- and 15-year-olds (227), followed by 16- and 17-year-olds (217); 18 incidents involved children aged 7 to 13. Boys accounted for 95 per cent of cases, and much of the imagery had been taken by the young people themselves after coercion or trickery. Report Remove, run by the Internet Watch Foundation and the NSPCC, helps under-18s seek to have images blocked and removed.
- 462 child sextortion reports came in during six months.
- Most victims were boys aged 14 or 15.
- Charities call for urgent action from platforms and Government.
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Sextortion is a form of online blackmail where criminals coerce young people into sending nude images and threaten to publish them publicly unless money is paid. The perpetrators often obtain these images through manipulation or by persuading young people to create them.
The crime predominantly affects teenage boys, particularly those aged 14 to 17. Young people may lack the experience to recognise manipulation tactics or understand the risks of sharing intimate images online, leaving them vulnerable to this form of exploitation.
Victims experience severe psychological harm from threats of exposure and may pay money to criminals who often continue to demand more. This form of online abuse affects significant numbers of young people and has become a concern for child protection organisations.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Children under ten victims of ‘sextortion’ as number of reported cases on course to double in a year”.