What is Sextortion and How to Protect Yourself

Contents

• What is Sextortion
• How Sextortion Works
• Who Gets Targeted
• Warning Signs
• How to Protect Yourself
• What to Do if It Happens to You
• Where to Report Sextortion
• How crushfling Protects You

Sextortion is one of the fastest growing online crimes. It can happen to anyone. This guide explains what it is, how to spot it, and what to do if you are targeted.

What is Sextortion

Sextortion is when someone threatens to share your intimate photos, videos, or messages unless you give them something. Usually money. Sometimes more content. Sometimes favors.

It is blackmail. It is illegal in most countries. And it is more common than most people think.

According to the FBI, sextortion reports have increased every year since 2019. Victims range from teenagers to adults in their 60s. It does not discriminate.

How Sextortion Works

The typical pattern looks like this:

Phase 1: Building trust. The scammer creates a fake profile (often using stolen photos of an attractive person). They start a conversation with you. They are charming, flirty, and seem genuinely interested.

Phase 2: Escalation. After days or weeks of chatting, they suggest exchanging explicit content. They may send you content first to make you feel comfortable reciprocating.

Phase 3: The trap. Once they have your explicit content, everything changes. They reveal they have screenshots. They threaten to send your content to your friends, family, employer, or social media followers.

Phase 4: The demand. They ask for money (usually cryptocurrency, gift cards, or wire transfer). They may ask for more explicit content. Some demand ongoing payments.

Phase 5: It never stops. Paying does not make them go away. It makes them ask for more. They know you will pay, so they keep demanding.

Who Gets Targeted

Everyone. But some groups are targeted more:

• Young adults (18-25). Most active on dating and sexting platforms. More likely to share content.
• Men. The majority of sextortion victims are men. Scammers know men are less likely to report out of shame.
• People in relationships. Scammers specifically target people who have something to lose. "Imagine if your wife/husband sees this."
• Public figures. Anyone with a reputation to protect is a high-value target.

If you think "it would never happen to me," that is exactly what every victim thought before it happened to them.

Warning Signs

Watch for these red flags:

• They are too attractive and too interested. Professional model photos with a generic profile. They message you first and escalate quickly.
• They push for explicit content early. Real connections take time. Scammers rush to get compromising material.
• They send explicit content first. This is a tactic to make you feel safe reciprocating. The content they send is usually stolen from someone else.
• They want to move off-platform quickly. Scammers prefer platforms with no moderation or reporting system.
• Their profile has no history. Recently created account with no activity. On crushfling, look for the Verified badge (identity confirmed with a photo) and check the account age. A profile created yesterday with no verification is far riskier than one that has been active for months with a verified identity.
• Something feels off. Trust your gut. If a conversation feels too good to be true, it probably is.

How to Protect Yourself

You do not have to stop sexting. You just have to be smart about it.

Identity protection:

• Never show your face and body in the same photo or video
• Turn off location data on your camera
• Use a username not connected to your real identity
• Never share your real name, workplace, or address

Vetting people:

• Check their profile for badges and verification. Real users have earned engagement badges.
• Look for answered profile prompts. Empty profiles are a red flag.
• Do not rush. Talk for a while before sharing anything intimate.
• Reverse image search their photos if something feels off.

Platform choice:

• Use platforms with moderation and reporting like crushfling
• Use messaging apps with disappearing messages (Snapchat, Telegram Secret Chat)
• Avoid platforms where your real identity is exposed

Content rules:

• Never include identifying features (face, tattoos, room details) with explicit content
• Use disappearing message features when available
• Do not store explicit content on cloud services that auto-backup

Read our full safe sexting guide for more detailed tips.

What to Do if It Happens to You

If someone is threatening to share your intimate content:

1. Do not pay. This is the most important rule. Paying does not make it stop. It makes you a repeat target. The scammer knows you will pay, so they will keep asking for more.

2. Do not panic. Take a breath. This is a crime being committed against you. You are the victim, not the one who did something wrong.

3. Stop all communication. Do not respond to threats. Do not negotiate. Do not engage. Block them.

4. Save everything. Screenshot the threats, the conversation, their profile, their username. This is evidence. Do not delete anything.

5. Do not delete your own content. You may want to delete everything out of shame. Do not. You may need it as evidence.

6. Report on the platform. On crushfling, use the Report button on their profile. Every platform has a reporting mechanism. Use it.

7. Report to authorities. This is a crime. Report it.

8. Get your content removed. Services like StopNCII.org can help remove intimate images from the internet. Use our content removal form if your content appears on crushfling.

Where to Report Sextortion

• crushfling: Report button on any profile + content removal form
• FBI IC3 (US): ic3.gov - Internet Crime Complaint Center
• National Crime Agency (UK): nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk
• Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca
• StopNCII.org: stopncii.org - Remove intimate images from the internet
• Cyber Civil Rights Initiative: cybercivilrights.org - Support for victims
• NCMEC CyberTipline (if minors involved): missingkids.org

How crushfling Protects You

crushfling is built with safety in mind:

• Trust badges. Users earn badges through genuine engagement. A profile with badges is far more likely to be a real person than a scammer.
• AI moderation. Our systems detect and flag spam, fake profiles, and suspicious behavior automatically.
• Profile verification. Users can verify their identity with a photo. Verified profiles get a checkmark.
• Report system. Anyone can report a profile, even without being logged in. All reports are reviewed by our team.
• Content removal. If your content appears on crushfling without your consent, submit a removal request and we will act within 48 hours.

No platform can prevent sextortion entirely. But using a platform with active moderation and trust indicators significantly reduces your risk.

Read our safety page and community guidelines for more on how we keep the community safe. Also check our guides on how to create a safe profile and finding sexting partners safely.

Written by the crushfling team. Last updated April 2026.