The Scam Hotline · Parent Protection Guide
Protecting your child from sextortion — the words, the steps, and the urgency you need before it's too late.
This is the most urgent guide we've ever written. Unlike a romance scam that unfolds over weeks, sextortion can destroy your child's life in minutes.
Sextortion is online blackmail where a predator tricks a child into sharing an intimate image, then immediately threatens to send it to the child's friends, family, and school unless they pay money or send more images.
It's happening in every community, to kids who are smart, well-adjusted, and loved. The victims are overwhelmingly teenage boys aged 14 to 17 — though girls and younger children are increasingly targeted too. This isn't about carelessness. This is about organized criminal networks running these scams full-time with scripts refined to exploit adolescent psychology.
A 17-year-old boy in Michigan — a homecoming king with a bright future — received a message from what appeared to be a teenage girl on Instagram. Within six hours, two men in Nigeria had obtained an intimate image and were demanding $1,000. He was dead before sunrise.
The scale of sextortion targeting children has exploded. These numbers should keep every parent awake.
Sextortion Reports to NCMEC ↑ 18,000% Since 2021
*Projected. Sources: NCMEC, Thorn
AI-generated exploitation reports soared from 6,835 to 440,000+ in six months of 2025. A single clothed photo can become fake explicit material.
Only 23% of minor victims tell a parent. The rest suffer in silence, trapped by shame and fear of punishment.
Sextortion follows a ruthlessly efficient playbook. Understanding it is the first step to stopping it.
The Hook
A stranger contacts your child on Instagram, Snapchat, or a gaming platform. The profile looks like an attractive teen. In reality, it's often a man operating overseas using stolen photos.
The Build
Flirting, compliments, shared interests. The predator may send intimate images first. In financial sextortion, this phase can last minutes.
The Trap
The moment your child sends an image or joins a video call, the predator captures it. Sometimes AI creates fake explicit images from a clothed photo.
The Threat
Instantly, the tone changes. The predator shows screenshots of your teen's contacts. "Pay up or everyone sees this." Demands are typically $300–$1,000.
The Spiral
If the teen pays, demands escalate. If they don't, threats intensify. The teen feels trapped. Shame overwhelms them.
Understanding why your child stays silent is the key to making sure they don't.
Shame
Your teen sent an intimate image and knows they shouldn't have. Admitting that — especially about something sexual — feels unbearable. For boys, there's intense pressure to handle things alone.
Fear of Punishment
Many kids believe they'll lose their phone, freedom, and parents' respect. The predator weaponizes this: "You'll be in trouble for sending nudes."
Belief Their Life Is Over
Predators tell victims images will be sent to everyone. To a teenager whose social world exists online, this feels like a death sentence.
The Predator Says Not to Tell
"If you tell your parents, I release everything." The predator isolates the child from the one thing that could save them.
Speed
Financial sextortion moves so fast kids can't think clearly. From first contact to crisis can be minutes. Adrenaline and panic shut down rational decision-making.
Before you say a single word about sextortion, you need to understand how your teenager is wired — and why the wrong approach almost guarantees they'll shut down.
The teenage brain — particularly between ages 13 and 17 — is undergoing the most significant rewiring since infancy. The prefrontal cortex, which handles rational decision-making, is still years from completion. Meanwhile the limbic system, which drives emotional response, is running at full throttle.
The moment your teenager detects a "serious talk" coming — a shift in your tone, a closed door, the words "we need to talk" — their threat response activates before you've said anything at all. This is not defiance. It is a survival instinct.
The 5 Psychological Realities Every Parent Must Know
They are biologically wired to pull away from you
Adolescent individuation means your teen's brain is literally programmed to resist parental influence. Side-by-side conversations (in a car, on a walk) work far better than face-to-face ones, which feel confrontational to the teenage brain.
They are hyperaware of being judged — especially about anything sexual
Shame is the dominant emotion in adolescence. The standard warning "Don't send pictures to strangers!" often backfires because it implies they might be dumb enough to do that, triggering defensiveness before the conversation begins.
They can detect an agenda from a mile away
Teenagers have finely tuned radar for inauthenticity. If they sense a prepared speech, they tune out — usually within the first 30 seconds. The scripts in this guide are structured to sound like genuine conversation, not a lecture.
Their social world is online — and to them, it is completely real
A threat to expose something online feels as devastating as a public humiliation in front of their entire school, team, and family simultaneously. This is what makes the 27-minute suicide timeline comprehensible. The shame is not abstract to them.
Fear of losing your respect is more terrifying than the predator
In the moment sextortion is unfolding, your teenager's primary terror is often not the criminal — it is the thought of you finding out. Predators weaponize this: "Your parents will be so disappointed in you." If your teen doesn't have absolute certainty that coming to you means safety, they will face it alone. And alone is where tragedies happen.
The 4 Phrases That End the Conversation
You don't have to be a perfect parent to have this conversation.
You just have to be a safe one.
Don't wait until something happens. This conversation needs to happen before the first message arrives.
Normalize the Topic
"I saw a story on the news about kids getting blackmailed online. Have you heard about this?"
Make It About the Scammer, Not Your Child
"There are criminals overseas who trick teenagers into sending photos, then blackmail them. They're professionals. They target smart kids."
Create the Safety Net BEFORE They Need It
"If anything ever happens online that scares you — even if you did something you think was wrong — you come to me. No punishment. No judgment. We just fix it."
Explain the Playbook
"They'll pretend to be a cute girl your age. They'll flirt. They'll send pictures first. The second you send one back, they threaten everyone you know unless you pay."
Teach the 5-Second Rule
"Before you send any photo, take 5 seconds: would I be okay if every person I know saw this? If no, don't send it."
Address the Shame Directly
"These scammers target smart kids. Popular kids. Athletes. They pick kids with a lot to lose because those kids are the most afraid to tell anyone."
Time matters. How you respond in the first minutes can make all the difference.
Stay Calm — Your Reaction Determines Everything
"I'm so glad you told me. This is not your fault. We're going to fix this together, right now."
Stop All Communication With the Predator
Stop responding. Do not send money or more images. Block the account. Cooperating almost never stops the blackmail.
Preserve Evidence
Before blocking, screenshot everything: the profile, messages, phone numbers, payment requests. Critical for law enforcement.
Report It Immediately
FBI (1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov), NCMEC CyberTipline (CyberTipline.org or 1-800-843-5678), the platform, and local police.
Request Image Removal
Use NCMEC's Take It Down service (TakeItDown.NCMEC.org) — a free tool that works with platforms to remove intimate images of minors.
Protect Financial Accounts
If money was sent, contact the payment service to attempt reversal. If banking info was shared, freeze accounts and place fraud alerts.
The scam may end in hours. The emotional damage can last months if not handled with care.
Separate the Person From the Mistake
"You're not stupid. You were targeted by a professional criminal. That's not a reflection of who you are."
Watch for Warning Signs
Withdrawal, sleep changes, secrecy with devices, hopelessness. 1 in 7 sextortion victims harm themselves. For LGBTQ+ youth, that triples.
Get Professional Help
A therapist experienced in adolescent trauma is critical. Many survivors describe PTSD symptoms.
Don't Punish Them
Taking away their phone tells them they were right to be afraid. Support, not punishment. Their trust in you is more valuable than any lesson.
Set accounts to private. Remove school name and location. Go through followers — remove anyone they don't know IRL.
Devices charge outside the bedroom. Most sextortion happens late at night when teens are alone.
"If anything online scares you — even if you did something wrong — come to me. No punishment. We just fix it." Repeat regularly.
Predators can create fake explicit images from a single clothed social media photo. Even kids who never send anything can be targeted.
Sometimes the hardest part is knowing what to say first. Save this page to your phone — the right words at the right moment can save a life.
You don't have to handle this alone.
Crisis & Reporting Hotlines
| Resource | How to Reach Them |
|---|---|
| 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline | Call or text 988 (24/7) |
| Crisis Text Line | Text HOME to 741741 |
| FBI | 1-800-CALL-FBI | tips.fbi.gov |
| NCMEC CyberTipline | CyberTipline.org | 1-800-843-5678 |
| NCMEC Take It Down | TakeItDown.NCMEC.org |
| The Scam Hotline | TheScamHotline.org | 321-No-Scams |
| StopSextortion.org | stopsextortion.org |
Prevention & Monitoring Tools
Monitors texts, social media, and email for sextortion and self-harm signs.
Password managers to prevent account hacking and credential theft.
Browser protection that blocks scam sites in real time.
Auto-sets protective privacy for users under 16.