Financially motivated sexual extortion

Context

Globally, there has been a large increase in reports of children and young people being forced into paying money or meeting another financial demand (such as purchasing a pre-paid gift card) after an offender has threatened to release nudes or semi-nudes of them. This is financially motivated sexual extortion, a type of online blackmail often referred to in the media as ‘sextortion’. Financially motivated sexual extortion is also referred to as sexually coerced extortion. 

Financially motivated sexual extortion is usually carried out by organised crime groups (OCGs) based overseas who are typically motivated by money. These groups target all ages and genders however, a large proportion of cases have involved male victims aged 14 to 18. 

Here is what you need to know as education professionals to recognise the signs of this form of abuse, understand how to respond, and increase awareness to help identify these behaviours amongst children and young people.

What it looks like

Child victims may report being:

• contacted by an online account that they do not know but appears to be another child or young person. They may also be contacted by a hacked account of a child or young person they do know and the communication feels unfamiliar
• quickly engaged in sexually explicit communications, which may include the offender sharing an indecent image first
• moved from a chat on social media, an online platform or game to a private messaging app that is an end-to-end encrypted chat platform
• manipulated or pressured into taking nude or semi-nude photos or videos
• told they have been hacked and the offender has access to their images, personal information and contacts (whether this is true or not)
• blackmailed into sending money or meeting another financial demand (such as purchasing a pre-paid gift card) after sharing an image or video, or the offender sharing hacked, digitally manipulated or AI-generated images of the child or young person making the threat of sharing them wider

Be aware that OCGs may target multiple children and young people within an education or wider social setting, as it is more likely that a child or young person will accept a friend request or communicate with someone they don’t know if they believe they are a ‘mutual friend’.

If a child or young person has disclosed an incident like this, your designated safeguarding person should immediately refer it to police or local authority children’s services through your safeguarding procedures.

Delivering preventative education

Make sure that the education your setting delivers helps children and young people to:

• recognise what a financially motivated sexual extortion attempt might look like
• understand healthy and unhealthy behaviours within relationships, including recognising that any pressure put on them to send images is abusive
• identify how to seek help from trusted adults if anyone is putting pressure on them to share images, including reporting routes within, and outside of, your education setting

Register for a free CEOP Education account for guidance, resources and training to help you do this. Resources such as the 11-18s website and  supporting toolkit can help you to deliver sessions that develop these key skills.

Use the template letter below this alert to support parents and carers to talk to their child about financially motivated sexual extortion and understand how they can help them if they become a victim.

If you plan to raise awareness of financially motivated sexual extortion via your education setting’s social media channels, use the template letter to identify the core messages to communicate in the post and link to the letter itself.

Visit the UK Safer Internet Centre for a downloadable list of resources from industry, law enforcement and non-government organisations for use with children, young people, parents and carers, and professionals.

Supporting victims

A child or young person who is a victim should be supported in the same way as with any other type of child sexual abuse.

You should:

• reassure them that they are not alone and that the adults around them will do all they can to help and support them
• remain solutions-focused and avoid victim-blaming language. Where a child or young person has shared an image, remember that they have been groomed and manipulated into doing so, and they are never responsible for their abuse
• work with the child or young person to determine their preferred approach for you or another appropriate professional to inform parents and carers
• support parents and carers to find further support for them and their child – a letter for parents and carers has been provided with this alert to support you with this
• help the child to remove or prevent images being shared online by following these 3 steps: 

In rare cases, financially motivated sexual extortion has been linked to self-harm and suicide. Be aware of changes in behaviour that may suggest a child or young person is at risk of developing or experiencing poor mental health. 

If you have a mental health concern about a child that is also a safeguarding concern, follow your setting’s child protection policy and speak to your designated safeguarding person. Only appropriately trained professionals should attempt to make a diagnosis of a mental health problem. Further information can be found in Welsh Government statutory safeguarding guidance Keeping learners safe.

Make sure that children and young people are aware of what local and national mental health support services are available to them. Child support services like Childline that can act as a gateway to wider support.

Parents and carers template letter