They are threatening to send the images to my child's friends and school in the next hour. What do I do?

Do not pay. The threat is almost always a bluff designed to force payment — offenders very rarely follow through because doing so removes their leverage and risks identifying them. Report to CEOP immediately, screenshot everything, and stay with your child. If the worst happens and images are sent to contacts, IWF Report Remove can have them removed, and platforms will act quickly once reported.

We already paid. What now?

You are not the first family this has happened to and it does not make things worse from here. Stop paying now, do not pay any further demand, report to CEOP and Action Fraud (0300 123 2040), and keep all the payment evidence. The police can sometimes trace cryptocurrency or money-transfer trails. Most importantly, your child still needs your reassurance — paying does not mean you failed them.

Should I confront the offender or pretend to be my child to scare them off?

No. Engaging in any form — even as an angry parent — confirms the account is being read and can escalate the threats. It can also interfere with the police investigation. Stop replying entirely from the moment you take over and let CEOP handle contact.

Immediate

Your Child is Being Blackmailed Online

Urgent steps when someone is threatening to share images or videos of your child unless they pay money or send more material (sextortion).

If your child is in immediate danger, call 999

For urgent reports of online grooming, sextortion, or contact with an unknown adult, you can also report to CEOP. For child sexual abuse imagery, report to IWF.

What might be happening

Your child is being threatened with the release of an image, video, or private conversation unless they send money, gift cards, more images, or do something the offender demands. This is sextortion, and in the UK it is one of the fastest-growing crimes against children. The offender is almost always running this as a script against many victims at once — they rely on the child feeling alone, ashamed, and panicked into paying. Boys aged 14-18 are currently the most-targeted group, but it happens to children of any gender.

How serious is it?

This is an immediate-priority situation. Sextortion has been linked to self-harm and suicide in UK children — not because the images themselves cause this, but because of the terror and isolation in the first hours. The good news: cases that get reported to CEOP and the National Crime Agency are usually contained quickly. Paying never makes it stop. Do not pay, do not delete evidence, and do not let your child face the next message alone.

What to do first

Step 1

Do not pay. Paying confirms the threat works and leads to escalating demands. Most offenders move on within 24-48 hours if there is no payment and no further contact.

Step 2

Do not delete anything. Do not delete messages, the app, the account, or any images already sent. Take screenshots of every message, the threats, the username, the profile, and any payment details requested.

Step 3

Stop all replies immediately. Do not negotiate, do not promise to pay, do not ask them to wait. Silence is the correct response from this point on.

Step 4

Report to CEOP right now: https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre — this is the police route for child sexual offences online. For under-18s with images at risk, also use IWF Report Remove (https://www.iwf.org.uk/our-technology/report-remove) which works with Childline to get images taken down.

Step 5

Stay close to your child for the next 24-48 hours. Take their phone for the night if needed — but explain you are doing it so they do not have to read the next message, not as a punishment. Childline (0800 1111) can speak to them directly and confidentially.

What to say

Phrases that help

"This is not your fault. These people do this to thousands of children — they are criminals running a scam, and you are the victim."
"We are not paying them anything and they will move on. I will not be angry, I will not be disappointed, I am only worried about you."
"You are not alone with this any more. From this minute, I am handling it with you."

What not to say

✗"How could you let this happen?" — every second of shame increases the risk of the child harming themselves to escape it.
✗"Let's just pay them this once to make it stop." — paying never makes it stop and funds the next attack on another child.
✗"Just delete everything and ignore it." — deleting the evidence makes the police case much harder and leaves the offender free to target others.

Settings to check

•Do not delete the app, the account, or block the offender yet — you need the police or CEOP to advise on this first, because deleting the account can destroy evidence.
•On every other app your child uses: lock down to private, friends-only DMs, and check whether the offender has made contact under another name.
•Disable the camera in all messaging apps for the next 48 hours (iPhone: Settings → Privacy → Camera; Android: Settings → Apps → Permissions).
•Turn off cloud photo sync temporarily so no further images can leak from the device.
•Keep the phone with you overnight while your child sleeps — this is for their safety, not surveillance, and tell them why.

When to escalate

Report to CEOP immediately (https://www.ceop.police.uk). If your child has expressed thoughts of self-harm or you are worried about their safety, call 999 or take them to A&E. Childline (0800 1111) and Samaritans (116 123) are open 24/7. If money has already been sent, also report to Action Fraud (0300 123 2040). The National Crime Agency runs the UK response to sextortion and works internationally to take offenders down.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last reviewed: 2026-05-17 · This page is educational guidance, not a substitute for emergency services, safeguarding professionals, or legal advice.

This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.