Disclaimer: I'm not providing a service, I'm not claiming to provide one, I will not try, offer, or suggest I can connect you with the person who gave me this advice. I'm deleting my profile anyway, so it's not like I will even be able to receive DMs about it.

I just wanted to leave this knowledge before I departed Reddit. I'm at a point where I've healed as much as I possibly can on this community and just want to move on. It has been over half a year, the scammer has never once followed through or contacted me again, and I would definitely have noticed if they had followed through. They didn't. I also didn't pay the scammer.

I didn't post this back when I first received this advice, because I didn't want to create the perception that I was offering a service (I'm not). Nor did I want to appear as if I stood something to gain from this post (I don't, I'm deleting my account right now).

Anyway... Here it is:

A family member of mine works in computers, and the line of work they do brings in a lot of diverse clients. One of these clients works in federal digital sex crimes investigations. A very seasoned agent. When I first was victim to the extortion attempt, my family reached out to this person for some answers.

The agent gave the following advice:

Rule zero) don't pay them

Seriously, they will just come back for more.

1. These people want money.

As obvious as that sounds, that's really it. It's not personal, they don't care about you, your status, or your life. They don't care if you have a wife. They want a paycheck. Ruining your life has no value to them. They just want your money, if you don't pay them, they basically move on to people who will fork it over.

2) When they do post it

Generally these people only seem to post the content when the victim makes an overly aggressive play to get back at the scammer. The agent said there are times people got leaked, but it was mostly for telling the scammer they'd hunt them down and hurt them, etc.

The scammers don't seem to have any interest in actually ruining aspects of your life unless you provoke them into making it personal. This isn't a personal crime to them. It is only personal to you, that's the difference.

So don't make it personal for the scammer.

3) Posting it makes them no money

One of the largest reasons they don't post it is because it is self-defeating. If they put your crap out there on the web, how would that make them money?

It makes no sense to threaten you after posting it. After all, you could just call law enforcement without paying them, because it's already online. It makes no sense for them to post it.

They profit from threats, not from posting it. They lose all leverage over you for posting it and so there is no reason to do it.

It's all risk and no benefit for them to post your content after threatening you.

4) They have a business to maintain

These people are operating a business (even if it's just one or two people). They are not going to take unnecessary steps to destroy their own business. The fastest way for them to destroy their operation is to recklessly post what they have on you on the internet.

The last thing these people need is 10 people reporting things they actually put on the web, which is evidence that can be traced and logged. So they rely almost solely on scaring victims without actually making themselves liable by posting it.

5) They can be traced, seriously

(by actual intelligence agencies, not those rip off services you can find on Google for $1,500)

Someone operating a sextortion ring off of their computers and VPNs are not going to be a match for agencies such as the FBI. If they post your crap online, and do actually draw the attention of legitimate agencies such as the FBI, and the FBI actually tries to track them, they are fucked. They are no match for the actual powerhouse that is the intelligence community.

Foreign and domestic sextortionst rings know this. If they actually post your content, they know they run the risk of it being logged and trackable by people who can and will ruin them.

They're evil, not stupid.

6) This is a serious crime

Federal crimes fall under these agencies, but international crimes are worse and more illegal and also fall under many of these agencies as well. These people know what they are doing is a massive crime. They have every incentive to not get caught by agencies that will wreck their little scam center.

Federal intelligence agencies absolutely do reach out to foreign intelligence counterparts when the foreign scammers do actually get caught up in international investigations, leading to my next point

7) Other countries hate these pieces of shit, too

The scammer might be foreign away from your country, but the law enforcement agencies in those countries hate them, too. When your country's intelligence agencies do end up stinging these scumbuckets by reaching out to other foreign agencies, they want these rings shut down as well.

Foreign scammers have every incentive not to draw even their own country's law enforcement on them. It's suicide. Posting your crap online is suicide to them, even overseas. Nearly all scammers will not risk having a bunch of people make evidence-based reports that ultimately make it back to their country just because they were stupid enough to put it on the web.

Again, these people will scare you to no end, but posting it is very risky to them and they stand little to gain from it.

8) Deleting your content

The agent said they had actually been involved in raids domestically on people his agency had warrants to raid.

In all of the cases that they knew the person was holding on to extorted content, when they finally raided them, they would always have a limited, narrow amount of victims' content on them.

Meaning they only really saved the content of the people they were currently working on. They were not keeping everything they had ever collected.

They have no reason to make themselves more liable by saving everything they ever had that has long past stopped making them any money.

9) You're not memorable

Another factor that makes you relatively forgettable to these scum is that they are working multiple victims at once. This is their job, they work it like a 9-5 in a lot of cases. They are talking to multiple targets all day every day like it's an office job.

You quickly fade from these people's minds after you stop being profitable. They have other people to work on, all day every day. You're not special. You're target #5 that day. The next month you've long been old news.

These people have no reason to remember who you are after they've determined your not a paycheck anymore.

Are you gonna remember the 50th face you saw last month, especially if you don't keep what you have?

Probably not.

10) dont worry

Finally, the agent said don't worry about it. The agent said I should just live my life. I learned a free (but hard) lesson. But to just live my life like it didn't happen.

The agent said all kinds of powerful people fall for this. A lot of smart, wealthy, high status people fall for this scam and they're still fine afterwards. These scammers just want the money, that's it. Just life your life after they stop asking for the money.

Conclusion:

These people are people who are fully aware what they are doing will absolutely end their miserable lives if they are caught. They want money without the hassle of getting busted. They have little to no reason to make it personal and leave evidence behind.

Their primary objective is to scare you without following through to destroy themselves in the long run.

Further, they have too many victims to work on for you to matter after they are done with you, and often delete what they have, saving their current victims in particular.

Takeaway:

You don't have to believe me. I'm a random on the internet. There's nothing for me to gain from sharing this information as I delete my account after pressing "post".

This community has helped me heal so much, so thank you. The is the best contribution I could possibly make to pay back that sense of solace this community has given me. Take care.

This is 90 percent of the posts here with just slightly different details. I’m a lawyer and my son got scammed yesterday (and paid $200 before I could talk to him) so I can give some good advice. This is not legal advice, just hopefully something to reassure you.

1. Do not pay them. They won’t stop harassing you once you pay. In fact, they always ask for more money. All that paying does is make this “business” work - they will keep targeting horny people because this is ONLY about making money. If no one paid, they wouid not do this to anyone anymore. If you do pay, it’s still OK. Just stop paying them and block them. Call your bank or credit card to stop/reverse charges. Banks don’t like fraud, so they will likely help you out.

2. They most likely won’t leak your pics. Yes, they showed you screen shots of your friends list. They threatened you and said they will ruin your life. Take a deep breath. They get nothing at all by leaking. Remember, this is ONLY about money. If they leak your pics, Instagram (or whatever platform they leak on) will ban them. That’s wasted time for them, and time is money. They have more horny people to scam and don’t want to waste time re-creating accounts, and they gain no money leaking your pics. Think about it: have you ever had someone friend you and then share nude pics of one of your Insta friends who got scammed? Me neither. It’s because it doesn’t actually happen very often.

3. They want you to panic. If you don’t panic, they won’t get paid. Don’t give them that power. Keep calm. If it makes you feel better, send a note to your friends saying you got hacked and to watch out for their account. You don’t really even need to do that, though

4. Block the scammer right away. If they find a way to find you elsewhere (unlikely) calmly tell them you reported them already to the FBI and block them there, too. Feel free to actually report them to the FBI. What they are doing is a felony. They are probably a dude in Nigeria or Russia even though they said they were a girl in college in Ohio, but they still don’t want the FBI on them. They will move on.

5. Don’t fall for secondary scams. There are services that promise to get your photos back. They also play on fear and say you’ll likely have your pics leaked if you don’t pay them to help catch the bad guys. This is also a scam. And these people suck as bad as the original scammers.

6. In the very unlikely chance that your pics are leaked, it’s not the end of the world. Most people would think it’s spam and delete it or report it. Others won’t care. Your close friends definitely won’t. It’s just a dick pic. It’s not like you stockpiled nuclear secrets in your bathroom. No one cares as much as you think.

7. Talk to a great friend or a family member you trust. This is unsettling and feels like a serious violation of your privacy (because it is). It helps to hear someone tell you it’s no big deal. Becasue it’s no big deal.

8. Order a pizza and watch your favorite show and stop worrying. Stop blaming yourself for being stupid. We are all stupid sometimes!

As I'm sure all of you could guess, I was recently a victim of sextortion. It hasn't even been a week since the incident, but I figured that the sooner I make this post, the sooner I can help someone get through the same situation I was in. This post is going to have a lot of content, so if you're in a hurry (currently being blackmailed) just please follow the steps and you can read the explanations provided later. If you were recently a victim of sextortion calm down, take a deep breath, and please hear me out:

1. DO NOT PAY: Hopefully it's not too late, but this is by far the number 1 rule you need to know. Don't ever pay, or things will only get worse. If you did pay already, I fully understand. I made an attempt to pay when I was first being blackmailed as well, but thank goodness banks are not stupid and did not let me send hundreds of dollars randomly to the Philippines. The reason you should never pay is because you expose yourself and your fears. Once a scammer knows you are the paying type, they will try their hardest to milk the sht out of you because they understand that you must have a lot to lose if you are paying. These people are messed up so you can never truly trust that they will delete your explicit content. In fact, I believe that it's more likely that they won't delete it just because they know that they can always come back to you for more and more money. Having said all that, if you did pay, the best course of action is still to follow the rest of the steps listed. It'll probably just be a bit harder as the scammer will likely be a lot more clingy if you paid.

2. Ghost (and/or Block) them: Stop responding, or just block them altogether. If they keep contacting or if they keep using different numbers, just keep blocking. Once the scammer believes that they are no longer able to communicate, you have won. It's really that simple. You've won because they lose the ability to scare you, and more importantly, they lose the ability to make money. Even if they are persistent with trying to contact you, this is their business. They have this sextortion scamming stuff to a science. The night I was sextorted, I could tell the sextortionist had tons of experience. The pace at which they apply pressure to you is incredible, and they never give you a break or room to breathe. My point is, if you have blocked all contact with them, they can't apply that pressure anymore, and they will go find someone else (trust me, you're definitely not the only one they are sextorting). You might be wondering, if I'm not paying them and I'm ignoring/blocking them instead, what's to stop them from posting or even worse sending my stuff to my friends and family? This is a commonly asked question and here is the answer: There are multiple reasons why they normally don't follow through. First of all, they're wasting time on you if you aren't paying and they can't even contact you anymore. They'd much rather go spend their time sextorting someone else. Second, by following through, they've lost all their leverage on you which is the only thing they have to scare you. Finally, they're scared too. What they are doing is very much illegal, and nowadays, authorities are getting better and better at cracking down on cases like these. The second they make that move to post or to send, they are putting themselves in danger, and for what? That's the situation that you put them in by not paying and by ghosting/blocking.

3. Don't give in to the blackmail "specialists" (eg. Digital Forensics, Cybersecurity Analytics, etc.): When I was being sextorted, I did what many people would do and googled: I am being blackmailed please fcking help me! The first thing that showed up, in my case, was a website called Digital Forensics. There are other similar ones scrolling down the search results, but they're really all the same. Anyways, I gave them a call and texted the hotline. After franticly attempting to contact them, soon enough I was on a call with one of their representatives. My experience was nothing short of disgusting. As soon as the call started I felt like I was being taken advantage of which is a HORRIBLE feeling when going through such a traumatic experience. Because I was talking to a hotline, I thought the person would at least help me calm down. Instead, the person I was talking to made me feel utterly and completely helpless. He painted their blackmail extermination services as the light at the end of the tunnel. He straight lied to my face, telling me that the sextortionists would likely edit my images to make me look like a pedophile. And that the only thing that is guaranteed is that the scammer will keep contacting, and keep contacting, and keep posting, and keep posting, but guess what? After following the first two steps above, nothing happened. Nothing was sent to my friends or family even after they said, "Good luck, I guess I'll start DMing now." The people running these digital forensics services care more about their profit than about actually helping. That's why their services start at the cheap rate of 1000 fcking dollars. I felt like I was about to pay for a scam to escape from a scam and it was the worst feeling ever. However, at the end of the day, if that's the only way for you to get sleep at night go for it I guess. At least you're paying for something that can actually benefit you. I just hope they aren't lying about their 90+ percent success rate like they lied to me about everything else.

4. Talk to someone, anyone: Please, please, please talk to someone. Whether it's a friend or family member, reach out to at least one person. Nobody should have to go through such a traumatic experience alone. During my sextortion incident, the scammer constantly threatened to send stuff to one of my best friends. At first, I didn't know what to do. Of course, I didn't want even one of my closest friends to know what situation I put myself in because, at the end of the day, I was going to feel embarrassed that I put myself in it. However, I ended up making the decision to warn them, and it was the greatest decision of my life. My friend instantly responded in the middle of the night asking if I was okay. While I was panicking and thinking about how I had fcked up my life beyond repair, my friend stayed on a call with me and was doing research on what to do in my situation. She even stumbled upon this sub, which I'm extremely thankful for. I would have not made it through that night without her, hands down.

5. Contact authorities (optional): The honest truth is that in a situation like this, authorities can't do much (unless you know who exactly the blackmailer is of course). Regardless, it can't hurt to contact them, as you'll want them on your side if it does ever come down to it. Of course, I didn't feel the need to do this as the person asking me for money was in a different continent, but still, contacting authorities or even submitting an IC3 form is never a bad thing.

6. Forgive yourself: Finally, the one step that all of us must follow at some point. We all know the feeling of frustration that we fell for it, despite the red flags. But trust me, the sooner you can forgive yourself, the sooner you will feel better. We are all victims here of a terrible and cruel crime. Why should we hate ourselves for it? One experience doesn't shape who you are, and other people know it too. That's why even if the dreaded moment does happen where somebody receives a message or sees a post, it's not the end of the world. After forgiving yourself, how you choose to make yourself feel better is up to you. Again, I would recommend talking to someone because in a situation like this, it makes all the difference. One thing I did that helped me was read this sub every chance I got. I read countless stories, feeling better and better after each post. Knowing that I'm not alone in going through this experience means everything. Once again, I'm eternally grateful for my friend that saved me and this sub that supported me. To anyone reading this, good luck! stay safe! and from now on never respond to a random "girl's" DMs again :D.

Hi all - A friend of mine was sextorted and their pics were sent to me via Instagram. I thought it might help you all to see the other side of this situation.

I got an Instagram DM request. I opened it to see it was from a random “girl” and she created a group DM full of people who are friends and family with the person who was sextorted. They were mostly people who had been tagged in my friends recent posts.

The name of the group was “[friends first and last name] NUDES”. And they sent a message saying “you all know [friends name], here are his nudes”. Then there were like 8 pics. But since they came from someone I don’t know, they were all blurred by Instagram. Pretty much everyone left the group immediately, and I’m pretty confident no one unblurred the pics.

Just wanted to share this. Worst case scenario, if they do send your pics, most people are smart enough not to accept the DM request or unblur the pics. I know a lot about sextortion but most people don’t, and most people would probably assume it’s a virus or something. I can’t imagine how scary it is to be in this situation, but please just know that most people won’t even bother to open the DM.

Warning: DO UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES use your regular PC for this or you risk losing your system and data.

Well, a friend of mine told me some weird guy on Instagram texted her and sent her a nude video of herself without saying how he got it (she sent it to an ex 4 years ago). He threatened to upload it on porn sites if she doesn't pay. She ignored him at first, but he seriously uploaded it to multiple sites and sent her links. Initial takedown requests were successful, but the creep continued asking for money and more videos.

One night when we were out and I was really drunk, she left her phone with me while dancing, and I just thought why not send the scammer a link to a folder full of ransomware disguised as nude videos.

Being a connoisseur of the more obscure parts of the internet, I quickly procured a handful of the most recent ransomware for windows pcs (on an iphone) and put them in a dropbox, all disguised as jpg and mp4 files, and sent him the link. He read the message, and she never heard back from him again. Her videos weren't uploaded again, at least we found nothing after extensive search even months later.

I guess the ransomware fried the creep's computer and encrypted all his files, including my friend's pics.

I don't want to encourage anyone to play around with ransomware without being an IT expert. I just wanted to tell what worked in our scenario. If you however are well experienced with cybersecurity and ransomware and know what you're doing, there's absolutely nothing morally wrong with using it to fight back against those creatures, and with a bit of luck they have shitty/no backups and your (and other victims' too!) videos are also lost by encryption.

Edit: Typos.

Hi Everyone,

I just would like to say first of all my experience on here has been 90% of the time amazing, it’s so great that there’s a platform for people to support each other and talk to each other, and thank you to the kind people who have done that for me.

However,

in my posts i’ve mentioned that i’m F18 and some people have taken this as an invitation to come into my dms and flirt with me, ask for socials, and even ask for nudes. Seriously? I mean seriously? It’s absolutely inappropriate and disgusting, especially on this subreddit.

Please stop.

Folks,

Everyone who is anyone with a cell phone camera has a compromising picture in the cloud. There are a million things that happen in the heat of the moment that will make you either send a picture of yourself, or act on the extortionists demands. Those two things are the perfect dose of losing your money. I say money first because that’s all these dipshits care about, and it’s all you should care about. Save your money. DO NOT PAY FOR SERVICES THAT CLAIM THEY CAN HELP YOU. YOU ARE ALREADY SAFE.

If you’re living in fear? I know it’s easier said than done but DON’T. In a strange way, these assholes helped you because you made a mistake you’ll never make again. Deactivate your socials if it makes you feel better, but your pictures are one in a giant sea of dicks, nipples, and vaginas. We’re all human, and these fuckers will have their day. Trust me. It’s happening as we speak.

Enjoy your life. Don’t let these people hold ANY real estate in your head. It’s part of their strategy. They are worthless, and you are worth much more.

My 14 year old son is very tech savvy, however hormones erased his common sense in this instance.

He got baited on Omegle, then moved to instagram, then google hangouts. Ended up having a video call with this person and then he was blackmailed immediately after.

The first thing he did was come and tell me exactly what happened. I told him we aren’t paying and to block all contact.

It’s been about 2 months now and there have been no comebacks.

I’m very proud that he came and told me. I didn’t lose my temper with him or anything. I know full well if I had that sort of technology when I was his age I would have done exactly the same, and probably more than once.

LOOK AT THE VIDEO FIRST BEFORE SAYING ANYTHING AND IGNORE THE GROUP CHAT NOTIFICATIONS IN THE VIDEO. ALSO I'M GUESSING THIS SCAMMER IS EITHER AN ACTUAL GIRL IN A GANG OR IT'S A GUY AND GIRL WORKING TOGETHER PLEASE EXPOSE THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO NO ONE FALLS VICTIM TO THIS SCUM!

To my surprise, nobody mentioned anything. I didn’t cop any shit from it at all, and everyone treated me normally. I was quite awkward and cautious throughout the day but other than that everything was normal.

That just goes to show how little everyone cares if ur nudes get leaked. It feels awful when it does happen but nobody gives a fuck and it’s not worth trying to stop it from happening because that takes up too much energy.

Sextortion is awful and the people that do it are evil… but that doesn’t make them following through with what they’re threatening you with that bad in hindsight.

My friend was sexstorted a few days ago and took his life from the stress. I'm writing this post to tell everyone his story. I can't release any details because the FBI are investigating it and the local police. The person responsible has multiple accounts and their photos. The photos they sent him via snapchat are under surveillance and if leaked will lead them right to the perpetrators. He sent money and they pressured him to send more. My prayers go out to him, his family, his loved ones. I can't wait to see the faces of the scammers when they realize they are going to prison. I hope they get the death penalty!! Please do not end your life. It is not worth it. Think of your friends and family. Block them and life goes on.

Alright so I remember paying this shmuck 500 dollars almost a year ago, after that he asked for more and I just blocked him along with deleting my Instagram all together, I laid low for about a month and made a new one that is private so it’s sextortion proof and this dude got the nerve to get another phone to text me 💀 and I know he doesn’t have them because in this convo he’s all talk, even if he did and he’s acting dumb I literally screenshot all the convos to negate him.

I would say Private Delights is the only site I’ve found that’s 100% legit. You still have to be cautious on the rest of them.

Quick notes from my experience:

- Erotic Monkey — pretty legit.

- Escort Babylon — pretty legit.

- Call Escort — pretty legit.

- MegaPersonals, Tryst, Hot — somewhat legit, mixed results.

- Escort Alligator — about 50/50, be extra cautious.

- Bedpage — mostly scammers.

There are more sites out there — you can find them by searching online — but that’s been my experience so far. I don’t know how familiar you are with this world, so here are some tips to help you avoid getting scammed. It’s crazy how many fake profiles are out there, and a lot of people fall for them. I learned some things the hard way and I want to save you that hassle.

First, look at the bio. If it’s full of slurs or lines like “no condoms,” “any position,” “I fuck you good,” or other over-the-top sexual phrases, don’t contact them. That kind of language is 99.9% a sign of a scam. I can send examples of fake profiles if you want to see what they look like.

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Perfect photos, a flawless-sounding bio, or very low prices are big red flags.

Prices tell you a lot. In 2026 it’s rare to find a reputable provider under $300 an hour — $300–$350 is lucky, and many charge $400+ for an hour. Very low rates are often bait.

Pay attention to how they write. Many scammers are overseas and their messages often have odd grammar or phrasing. Poor English by itself isn’t proof, but combined with other warning signs it’s worth being suspicious.

Most legitimate providers won’t ask you to send money up front. Some will ask for a small deposit for outcalls or first-time bookings, but most prefer payment in person before anything happens. If someone insists on large deposits, wire transfers, or untraceable payment methods, be very careful. If they’re overly demanding about sending money, that’s a red flag.

There are also “pro” scammers who make everything look legitimate. For example, they’ll say they’re at a nearby hotel but won’t give the address, have you drive there, then demand payment before giving a room number. That’s a 100% scam—don’t fall for it. If one of their first messages is “what’s your ZIP code?” or they try to find out your location before giving theirs, that’s often a scam tactic. You should get their location first so you can confirm they’re actually nearby.

Use a prepaid phone or an app that gives you a separate number, and create that account with a different email — not your main one. There are cases where you message a number, don’t get a timely reply, and then later receive threatening calls or texts saying your family is at risk unless you pay. It’s all bait. Keeping your contact info separate limits your exposure.

Everything I’ve said isn’t 100% accurate in every case — every provider works differently. Some legit people will ask for a deposit; others won’t. Some accept only cash, others use discreet payment apps; communication styles and boundaries vary. Use these tips to lower your risk, but adapt to each provider’s stated terms and trust your instincts. All of this is based off my experience for years now. One thing I hate to see is the hard-working people getting scammed for hundred or thousands of dollars. So please if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out or if you’re going through any trouble I am not on here all the time, but I try to get on daily so if I don’t reply right away, it’s not that I’m ignoring you. I just haven’t hopped on. I will reply to everyone. PLEASE SHARE TO GET THIS MESSAGE ACROSS!!! My goal is to help as much people as possible to prevent them from getting scammed. Stay safe everyone.

TLDR: I was sextorted exactly a month ago, they had everything they needed to ruin my life and I paid. I blocked them and realized this is my lowest point in life, so I took this sextortion as an opportunity to get off social media and self improve. You have nothing to worry about, and I want to help others also self improve and get off social media..

Hello:

20M Today is offically one month since it happened to me. A little anxious heading into my day since it almost feels like they'll come back in exactly in a month but I know I'm just overthinking it and they won't come back. If they do come back, I'll just message some people of this subreddit, and move on, maybe make a post about it. I wanted to create this post to tell my story throughout the month, give some advice on what to do, help people feel less anxious, and most importantly, how to move on.

What to do when Sextorted:

When you been sextorted, just instantly block them, private or deactivate all socials, don't send any money and if you did, oh well but expect them to be back, just keep on blocking them though. Think of this situation as nothing more than just a random scam call, as long as you don't reply, they can't do anything. Same applies to sextortion, as long as they can't get in contact with you, you have the power not them. Plus they're the criminals, we're just the victim, so relax.

My Story:

Day 1 My story starts on a dating/friend making app, it moved to Instagram where we exchanged pictures, I sent pictures and a video showing half of my phone, then I sent my phone number where they started threatening me to pay $300 with a collage of my pictures, phone number instagram followers, etc. Out of panic I sent $60, and after that my card kept declining and not letting me send the rest (A blessing tbh since I put a $100 per week max limit on my card). So I told them I had a family emergency come up so I need the rest of the money, and blocked them. Private all my social medias, changed usernames and pfp, and changed all my passwords.

Day 2 and they immediately come back showing me screenshots of them sending it to two of my friends (Faked as I asked my friends if they got anything and they said something was sent then unsent), and saying how it was already going viral. Instant block again.

Day 20 Hadn't heard from them since beside the occasional random "Hello" text or random phone calls (Could be them, could not be them, but after 2 weeks these died down). But I got one specific Hello, followed up with a Hru text that came from a email that had the exact same name as the person who blackmailed me. Instant block again followed by some anxiousness.

Woke up the next three days to some random phone calls, random scam text messages again, and even some messages of my Instagram password trying to be reset with my phone number. But after that I haven't received anything else.

Day 31 and haven't received anything. I moved on from it, still get anxious here and there but it's whatever. If you're worried about your situation, these people had EVERYTHING to ruin my life, my phone number, the state I live in and even my area code, screenshots of all my followers/followings, a nude of my whole body + a video that shows my face, my full name, the university I go to, the email of my professor, the email of where I’m interning at, three of my personal emails, pictures of me and my family, not to mention, I paid so I was the PERFECT target for them, yet they haven't threatened me in a month.

Why you SHOULDN’T worry:

The reason why you shouldn’t worry is because nothing is going to come out of this, they’ll forget about you soon. The scammers will AT MOST send it to your friends or family that you have tagged on your pictures or who you follow/who you are followed by. Even then, scammers don’t want to send it to anyone at all because it makes it easier for them to get tracked down, it’ll get their page deleted, and usually will lead them to getting in trouble. For this reason, they result to threatening you by sending it to someone you know, screenshotting it, then sending you the picture and unsending it from your friend, or they will add everyone to a group chat, then send a sfw picture of you and say something like “Do you know (Insert name here).

If they have information about you like work or university they will NOT go that far. Sending it to a friend or family? That person will just delete it and not go to the cops most likely. Sending a picture to your boss or professor? That’ll lead to an investigation with the company, putting the scammer at too much of a risk.

They only care about one thing, money. What will they gain out of actually exposing you? Nothing but losing the leverage they had on you, getting in trouble with their boss, wasting their time and being able to be busted/caught by law more easily. These scammers are already committing a crime by sextorting and scamming people, but sending your nudes to other people? That’s crossing a whole new crime which they DON’T want to cross. Especially if it turns out you’re a minor.

Time is money, especially while scamming. Why spend hours trying to find information about someone, just for them to continuously block you and not pay any money? They’re going to move on and sadly find new victims. If you paid, they’ll come back to you, message you to give it a shot, but that’s it. This is the biggest factor to calming down your nerves. These people work in groups, 8 hours a day for example, multiple people. Imagine how many victims they get a day? Now imagine how many victims they get a week, now imagine that after a month? You're long forgotten, and they'll find victims who actually paid, or who paid more, etc.

The pictures will be gone soon, these are some peoples job or side jobs. Imagine how many nudes they have collected all over their phones and hard drives, imagine how incriminating it is to keep it all. Eventually they’ll wipe their drives and your pictures and videos will be gone. This is nothing more than a SCAM. Think of this as a scam email, or a scam text message. Block it, know nothing will come from it, and move on.

We need help:

If you sent nudes to a female/male you just met online, or got on omegle with a female/male and immediately start wanking it to eachother, you need help (and this includes me). It's not healthy at all and it is something that needs to be worked on in your life. Take this sextortion event as not something that ruined your life, but as something that'll transform it. Seriously. This is your sign that you've stooped low in life but that's all going to change, you've learned your lesson and now you're going to become a better person.

You saw the red signs while talking to them or video chatting with them didn't you? Mine kept asking if I had kids, or a family, where I lived, and all in broken english, then immediately asked to exchanged nudes. All red signs but why didn't I stop? It's because my lust overcame my consciousness, just like for a lot of other people. You're mind, and mine, is addicted to this feeling and wants that instant gratification/dopamine.

So many people on this subreddit were just recently sextorted, and their follow up post is, "When can I be back on my socials, when can I go public again?" I get it, this was my thought too. But this just shows how addictive social media is, and how unhealthy it is. It is because of social media that we got into the mess we are right now, and it's because of social media we are addicted to porn, and exchanging nudes. We’re all human, and we all get these lustful thoughts and feelings, as we are programmed to do as humans. But once you are not able to control these thoughts and feelings, you’re screwed in life. People will take advantage of you, and you won’t get farther in life (this comes from the book, Flow, the psychology of optimal experience, and this describes perfectly the situation we put ourselves in due to not being able to overcome our human genetic code).

What to do to move on:

We need to take this sextortion as a learning experience, that we aren't perfect, but we are going to work on it and become the best possible us we can be. What leads to happiness is the experiences we have in life, and how we choose to react or live with it. You can choose to be upset about this sextortion, or you can choose to live with it and take it as a learning lesson.

The first thing I recommend doing HIGHLY, is having a fresh start. This will calm down your anxiousness a lot as it did for me. I created a new email, deleted accounts I didn't use, changed the password and emails for accounts I did use, and put it all in a password manager. It gives a sense of control. Something that was taken away when we were sextorted.

Another thing, DELETE social media. I know how hard it might be, activating it an deactiving it, and I still do. But those moments that you aren't on social media, it's the best feeling in the world, the worry of the sextorter is gone (Even though they still have my phone number), and the distractions are gone. My recommendation, uninstall social media and ONLY reinstall it on Sundays.

Work on self improvement, there is no better time to work on it than now. You were just at your lowest in life, now is the time to get to your highest. Start going to the gym, start a skin care routine, start reading, work on that side hustle you had in mind. This will distract you for the thought of them coming back, and make you happier.

If you still feel anxious about them coming back. Try out self-reflection, journaling, or mediation. Journal your feelings. Especially mediation, this anxiousness comes from the thought of what MIGHT happen, mediation helps you live in the moment and focus on right now, not the future. Journaling is also really good for getting your thoughts out of your head and onto the paper.

Lastly, and most important, learn to control your private parts. Get on the NoFap community if it helps. But it's because of our lustful urges that we got into this mess.

Conclusion:

Please, message me if you want to talk about your sextortion, or need reassurance, or if you want to talk about self improving after the sextortion. My DMs are ALWAYS open. We have got to make the best out of the worst situations, or we won't live a happy life.

What happened

I won't go into much detail about my own experience, because I think that each one is pretty standard. Essentially, a week ago a "girl" added me on insta, saying that she was "bored" and added me randomly. We talked for a few days and then she mentionned she wanted to make the conversation more lively, proposed we talk on Snapchat, and then asked to exchange sneaky pics. Obviously all those were clear red flags and I'm still ashamed of myself for taking the bait and eventually sending pictures of myself. I still don't know why I sent them despite knowing something was off, but there's no point lingering over that because its done, and that is my first advice. It's happened, you can't unsend those pictures, the first step is to accept that it's been done.

I then received a message from the scammer with screenshots of my pictures, with my snapchat username, and a list of my instagram followers about 3 days ago. He threatened to send the pictures and my username to all my followers, sending screenshots of the pictures being sent to certain people. I panicked, very much so for 10/15 minutes. My first thought was "just pay and it'll be over", and that's my second advice here, as you have probably seen everywhere else, Do Not Pay. You pay, they understand you may pay more, and likely mess with you for longer. You don't pay, they will likely realize you are not a good target and move on. However, if you have already paid, don't worry, I feel like I would have too if I was alone, just don't pay any more because there isn't a set amount of money they want. They will keep asking for more.

So here is my 3rd advice, as soon as you get the threats, please please talk to someone about it straightaway, the decisions you make will then not be taken over by panic, which is the only way for the scammer to make money. I was lucky to be with a friend when it happened, and they told me to not pay, and act like I didn't care about the threats, so I just sent "Ok cool lol" to the scammer before blocking them off on all my social medias. Make sure you talk to a few people (not everyone in my opinion) after it has happened too, to talk about your feelings, which is what I want to get to now.

The emotions

It is totally normal to feel completely panicked at first, during the first few hours, I thought about all the possible scenarios. However, in reality, you must understand that it is very unlikely any of these scenarios will happen.

1. The pictures get leaked to your friends and family: First of all, the scammer will likely give up if you block them and therefore not even bother releasing the picture due to time and legal reasons. Now let's assume the pictures do get leaked, well, it's not actually that important. No one today cares about seeing someone naked, so just try take it lightly and laugh it off. So get your mind off it, either by realizing the pictures are very unlikely to be released, or by realizing that them getting released will in no way "Ruin your life"

2. Pictures get kept and risk being exposed in the future: These scammers scam hundreds of people a month, so their drive is filled with dozens of pictures for each person, so don't worry, it is unlikely the scammer will even keep your picture more than a month or so

But again, don't worry, it is normal to feel anxious because unlike other traumatic events, it keeps coming back to mind even more given that it feels like it never really is over. But trust me, after a few days you can pretty much consider it over.

Advice to move on

1. Block the scammer on every platform. If they lose easy contact with you, they will give up. Time is money, sending out your pictures is a waste of time, therefore a loss of money.

2. Whenever the thoughts come back, imagining the worst possible situations, evaluate whether those situations with what I mentioned before: time is money. Will it actually be worth it (or even feasible) for the scammer to put you in such situations? Although it may seem it from our point of view, these scammers have dozens of victims each week, they scam the easy victims (ones that keep paying), rather than asking for money through other created situations from people that have not paid, or stopped paying.

3. If the thoughts don't go away quickly, try journaling, sports, sharing your story on this reddit (which has been my way of dealing with it one last time to be honest)

4. The one that really helped me the most: Be happy it happened. Okay this might sound weird put like that but hear me out. The best life lessons come out of the worst situations. Be happy you have the opportunity to use this situation to grow as a person. Not only realizing to be careful in the future about scams, but also understanding that it doesn't matter how people see you, even at your most vulnerable (naked). It will also help you to live through future complicated situations, teach you how to move on. Most important in my opinion is that it will make you realize, as I saw on another post "If there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt". It will make you realize that so many issues in your life currently and in the future, can easily be solved by being confident in yourself. therefore, if you follow such a mindset, this situation can actually greatly increase your confidence and end up solving a multitude of other issues.

keep in mind tho that those were my way to deal with it, so some people may choose to ignore (although I wouldn't recommend it, especially for advice 1 and 4), modify some or even add other advice, so please feel free to do so in the comments because I'm sure that will help a bunch of other people

I will keep updating you guys if anything comes up on my side and whether I find some better ways to deal with it over time. But overall, I think there is one thing to remember, that you are not completely powerless in this situation. You can still choose to react in a positive way, to help you move on and grow as a person. Feel free to comment your situation or question and I will gladly answer (or DM me if you prefer that) :)

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to share what happened to me recently, because I know how terrifying these scams can feel in the moment. If you're going through something similar right now: you're not alone, and more importantly you’re not powerless.

A few days ago, I was tricked into a FaceTime video with someone I met on a dating app. Things turned sexual and I was recorded without my consent. Not long after, I started getting threatening messages from a foreign number (Philippines, +63). They showed me screenshots of my follower list, my comment section, my name, and even my family members.

They tried to pressure me into paying by threatening to send the video to everyone I know. I panicked at first. I begged. I cried. I felt shame and fear like never before. Then I started blocking.

And they didn’t stop at least not right away.
After blocking the first number , a second number messaged me hours later. Then, a few hours after I blocked that one, a third number tried. Each time the same threats. Each time the same scare tactics. But none of them ever followed through.

And now?
It’s been over 36 hours of total silence.
No video was sent. No family contacted. Nothing happened. And I’m finally starting to breathe again.

If you’re reading this while freaking out please read carefully:

✅ Do not pay
✅ Do not reply
✅ Block them immediately
✅ Set your accounts to private
✅ Report them
✅ Breathe. You are safe.

These scammers are fishing. They send the same message to dozens of people a day. If you don’t give them what they want money or fear they move on.
You are not their only victim. You're just one of many.

⚠️ Also, don’t trust people who message you offering to “hack” the scammer or “delete the video for you.”
Some scammers pose as fake hackers or “helpers” and will tell you they can make the video disappear. What they really do is message the original scammer, ask them for the video, and then start blackmailing you themselves. They’re not on your side they’re just trying to get the video and take over the extortion.If anyone reaches out claiming they can fix things for you, delete the content, or "handle it for a fee" block them immediately. Stick to official reporting channels. Trust no strangers who magically appear offering help.

And most importantly:

You did nothing wrong.
You are the victim of a criminal.
You were manipulated, not stupid.
You deserve compassion not shame.

Let’s stop giving these people power. Talk about it. Warn others. And if you’re going through this right now, feel free to comment. You don’t have to go through it alone.

Stay strong. You’ve got this. <3

I was on there earlier having a bit of fun. Unfortunately, my face was showing for more than a couple of seconds at one point by accident on (clearly) a bot. I never give out any socials/phone numbers/emails/ANYTHING on there.

Minutes after disconnecting, I get a message on WhatsApp with a bunch of screenshots. The first one is a screenshot of me, dick in hand, on the website. The next are screenshots of my instagram account, and screenshots of profiles of family members and one of my workplace. The message was something to the affect of "I recorded you masturbating, and I'm going to send it to your friends and family unless you do me a favor". I ignored it and immediately blocked them without response.

It's been about 30 minutes and I haven't heard anything back from any friends or family yet. I reached out to one and he said he didn't get anything. But based on some previous posts I've read, they absolutely will send the video to a bunch of people.

I have no idea how the fuck they got that information. My only guess is them using some sort of facial recognition software, but I have no idea. I didn't even know there was software available to the public for social media tracing. I also have no idea how they got my whatsapp (which implies they have my number).

Anyone else run into this? How did it pan out?