What to do first
Stop replying. Don’t pay and don’t send more images. Paying rarely ends it, and threats often continue. If you’re under 18 or feel in danger, tell a trusted adult or contact local police straight away.
Step 1: Keep evidence
Screenshot the messages, the profile and any payment demands before you block. Save usernames, links and dates. Don’t delete the chat yet. This is useful for the police and for Instagram.
Step 2: Block and report
Report the chat from the conversation menu, choosing the option that fits what they’re doing, then block the account. Instagram’s safety pages explain how to report intimate image threats.
Step 3: Use image-removal tools
StopNCII.org lets adults create a digital fingerprint of an image on their own device so participating platforms can detect and block it. The image isn’t uploaded. For images taken when you were under 18, NCMEC’s Take It Down service works in a similar way. Both are free and run by recognised organisations.
Step 4: Contact the authorities and get support
Report to your local police or your country’s online-crime reporting service. Talk with someone you trust, or a support organisation in your country. Shame is what blackmailers rely on, and you’re not alone.
Step 5: Tighten your account
Set the account to private, review followers, turn on Hidden Words and limit who can message you. Change your password and enable two-factor authentication.
How these threats usually unfold
Sextortion often starts with a friendly new account, sometimes using attractive photos, that quickly moves the chat to a more private setting, shares an intimate image first and asks for one in return. The moment an image is sent, the tone changes to threats: pay, send more or the image goes to your followers and family. Time pressure is part of the technique. Knowing the pattern helps you step out of it, because the threats are designed to make you panic rather than think.
If you’re a parent or carer
Stay calm and make it clear the young person isn’t in trouble. Help them stop contact, save evidence and report. For under-18s, NCMEC’s Take It Down service and the police are the main routes. Blame shuts conversations down, and the first reaction you give often decides whether they tell you the whole story.
What not to do
- Don’t pay. It often leads to more demands.
- Don’t delete everything in panic. Keep evidence first.
- Don’t blame yourself. The person making threats is responsible.
Official sources
Meta and Snap update their help pages and flows often. Always follow the wording on your own screen and the current official Help Center. Unbanz is an independent service and is not affiliated with Meta, Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat.