Increase in sextortion cases involving children sparks warning

Friday, 4 November 2022 00:00

Wiltshire Police have recently seen an increase in sextortion offences, with the victim being under the age of 18-years-old.

Put simply; sextortion is where criminals use fake dating or social media accounts to befriend people online & persuade them to send intimate pictures/videos/perform sexual acts. They record/save them and threaten to share the content with friends & family unless a payment is made.

Both males and females can be victims of sextortion.

DI Anthony King of the Child Internet Exploitation Team said: " In recent months, Wiltshire Police has seen an increase in reports where children have been identified as victims of sextortion. This offence can occur across a number of different internet platforms whereby a young person is communicating online with an unknown person who requests they send an indecent image of themselves.

Once the young person sends the image the conversation changes to demands for money and threats the image will be posted to their social media feed. When the young person realises what has happened it can cause them significant concern and distress.

If you've been the victim of sextortion, please report it to the police on 101, where it will be dealt with sensitively, and the appropriate safeguarding can take place."

Sharing indecent images of children is a crime. A child is anyone under 18 years of age

You can find more information and advice on sextortion here:

Sextortion | Wiltshire Police

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