BBC Scam Safe week is back for 2025 and runs from Saturday 22 November. This year it is bigger than ever, with programming and content across the BBC dedicated to highlighting some of the most common scams. There will also be plenty of advice about how you can protect yourself from falling for them.
One scam that can affect teenagers is something called sextortion. The charity The Internet Watch Foundation have reported a 72% increase in cases of sextortion in 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. The BBC Bitesize 2025 Teen Summit survey found that 20% of teens surveyed have received unwanted nude images from peers.
But what is sextortion, what can you do if you are targeted by a sextortion scammer, and how can you avoid this kind of blackmail? We've asked Scam Interceptors' Nick Stapleton for his advice.
It is BBC Scam Safe Week and I want to talk to you about a scam called sextortion, a really nasty type of scam that is basically blackmail. So, imagine you get a message out of the blue on social media from someone who's of a similar age and maybe says they live in the same area and is kind of good looking. You start talking to each other, you get along really well, maybe it leads to flirting. One day they share a bit of a naughty photo with you and encourage you to do the same. But if you do it, the moment you share your naughty picture with them, they reveal themselves to be a scammer and they say if you don't pay them money, they're going to send your naughty photo to all of your friends and family. What a horrible scam. It's extremely common for this scam to target people who are in their teenage years. If you do find yourself in this situation, the first thing you should do is go and tell an adult straight away. Talk to your parents, believe me, they will be extremely sympathetic to what you are going through. The other thing you can do is just block and ignore the scammer, because I know they've got your photo, but scammers just care about money. They're not going to go to the trouble of sending it around all of your friends and family. They're just going to move on to the next person they can try and squeeze some money out of. To avoid getting caught up in sextortion I would just say, don't send naughty photos of yourself to anybody. It doesn't matter if you think you know them and can trust them, just don't do it. If all this sounds very familiar and you're struggling with something like this, go to the BBC Bitesize Action Line for young people to get more help.
What is sextortion?
Nick is a scam expert on Morning Live, he told us that sextortion is a type of A criminal offence where somebody demands payment, or another benefit, from someone in return for not revealing something compromising, or damaging about them.. Nick says: "People who are targeted by sextortion scammers are often contacted out of the blue on social media from someone who appears to be of a similar age. They may say that they live in the same area, and they usually have a profile containing photos of someone who is good looking." Of course this is all a part of the deception.
The scammer will start talking to you, pretending to be somebody else, and you might get along really well. Nick says: The conversation can often be flirty and that the person you are talking to might share a naughty photo with you, and encourage you to do the same. But the moment you share your picture with them, they will reveal themselves to be a scammer. They will say that if you don't pay them money, they're going to send your photo to all of your friends and family." This can be very worrying, so what can you do?
Facts about sextortion
We spoke to Childnet an online safety charity for children and young people, and they shared this data from the National Crime Agency (NCA):
- UK police forces are receiving more than 110 reports of child sextortion attempts every month, according to the National Crime Agency, but worryingly, it is thought there are many more monthly that go unreported.
- The NCA said the use of artificial intelligence in sextortion attacks had also increased “substantially” over the past three years as criminals adapted their methods.
- The NCA has seen an increase in digitally manipulated or AI-generated sextortion attempts.
What can you do if you are contacted by a sextortion scammer?
It's extremely common for this scam to target people who are in their teenage years, teenage boys are often targeted in particular. Nick says that if you do find yourself in this situation, the first thing you should do is go and tell an adult straight away. He says: "Talk to your parents. Believe me, they will be extremely sympathetic to what you are going through." If you can't, or don't want to speak to your parents, you could also speak to a teacher, another trusted adult or a helpline, like Childline.
Nick says that you should block and ignore the scammer. "I know they've got your photo, but scammers just care about money. They're not going to go to the trouble of sending it around all of your friends and family. They're just going to move on to the next person they can try and squeeze some money out of to avoid getting caught up in sextortion."
Childnet say that where possible, you should save the evidence. This could be taking screenshots of the person’s profile, messages which have been sent, their username, email address, phone number and bank details if they provided them. They advise that you don’t delete the messages, images or videos you have sent, as these could be useful when reporting. Childnet say you should stop communicating with the person, don't send any further messages or the money they have been requesting. Tell a trusted adult and report it to the police (999 emergency or 101) or CEOP, and the social media platform the person has contacted you on.
There are two very helpful services you can also use – Take It Down and Report Remove. These services work slightly differently but will help you remove or stop the online sharing of the image or video. These services also work to remove AI created images.
Nick recommends not to send nude photos of yourself to anybody. He says: "it doesn't matter if you think you know them and can trust them, just don't do it".
If you need support
You should always tell someone about the things you’re worried about. You can tell a friend, parent, guardian, teacher, or another trusted adult. If you're struggling with your mental health, going to your GP can be a good place to start to find help. Your GP can let you know what support is available to you, suggest different types of treatment and offer regular check-ups to see how you’re doing.
If you’re in need of in-the-moment support you can contact Childline, where you can speak to a counsellor. Their lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There are more links to helpful organisations on the BBC Bitesize Action Line page for young people.
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