Today on Cybertip Awareness Day, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is encouraging everyone to learn what financial sextortion is, to understand how to protect yourself and those around you, and know how to report this crime.
Financial sextortion is a form of blackmail that involves someone online threatening to send a sexual image or video of you to other people if you do not pay them.
The unfortunate truth is that this type of crime is trending. It is a public safety crisis for Canadians, specifically our youth. It is a crime where anyone, including children, can be victimized through their phones, gaming consoles and computers. They can be targeted in their homes, their classrooms, and in other public places. This serves as a good reminder to practice online safety by using privacy settings on social media accounts and to not add or follow people unknown to you.
While everyone is at risk of financial sextortion, recent findings suggest that young boys have represented the majority of cases in the last year. According to Cybertip.ca, Canada's tip line, 91% of sextortion incidents affected boys. It is important to remember that while boys represent the majority of reported victims, anyone can be victimized. Also remember that you are not alone – if this has happened to you, there is help and there is life after images.
What to do if you are being financially sextorted:
- Stop all communication with the offender
- Reach out to a trusted adult, and report to cybertip.ca or your local police. You won't be in trouble with law enforcement and you are not the one to blame in this situation. By reporting it, you can help to make it stop
- Do not comply with any threats, do not send money or more images.
- According to an open source analysis by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection of 6,500 first-hand accounts shared publicly on a popular victim support forum, complying with an extorter's demands often leads to frequent future demands
- Deactivate, but do not delete your social media account or images
- Save a copy of any images you sent, and take screenshots of the messages and the person's profile including username
- Trust your instincts, practice caution when communicating online
- There is life after images
- The offender might make you feel like your life is over or you may not see the way forward right now, but you are not alone and life can and will go on after these threats. These offenders are smart, but law enforcement is working together to fight against these crimes
Even though financial sextortion is committed virtually, it can have serious impacts offline. After the threats and aggression, victims can feel alone, ashamed, scared, and sometimes desperate – to the point where they can harm themselves. Countless children and adults in Canada and around the world have been threatened this way. There are resources and supports available to help. You are not alone.
If you need help, there are resources available to you:
- Cybertip.ca provides information on staying safe online and how to report any concerns. You can provide your name and contact information, or complete the form anonymously
- Cybertip.ca also manages Project Arachnid. This program helps victims have their images removed if they are shared publicly
- Don't Get Sextorted has information on staying safe and getting help
- Need Help Now provides information on emotional support, reporting, helping a friend, and answering frequently asked questions
- Public Safety Canada provides youth, parents and caregivers with educational resources on Online Dangers, including sextortion
- Kids Help Phone can provide urgent support in terms of emotional support and steps on what to do next
- The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has sextortion resources available to the public
- The Department of Justice's Victim Services Directory can provide information on resources in your community available to victims of online child sexual exploitation
Quick facts
- Cybertip.ca has seen an 85% increase in sextortion reports between December 2022 and August 2023
- Cybertip.ca received 2,300 sextortion reports between September 1, 2022 – August 31, 2023, and are currently receiving an average of 40 reports per week
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These types of crime have a lasting effect on its victims. Police in Canada and around the world are working together to address sextortion and protect our youth by educating the public about what is happening and what they can do to help curb this criminal activity. One of the most impactful things a victim can do is to report the crime. This isn't the victim's fault and there is no shame in being victimized by these criminals. We need you to know that police are here to help you and that there is life after images.
The RCMP continues to work with domestic and international law enforcement partners to help protect young people online. Sextortion and other forms of online child sexual exploitation can have serious implications, and we want young people to know that the police are here to support them. Police services around the world are united to fight against these crimes. We encourage everyone to report if this has happened to you, and know that you are not alone.
This is a public safety emergency; youth are being terrorized online and in some tragic cases, we are losing children to these predatory, unrelenting tactics. Offenders have been given direct access to our children through the platforms youth use every day – platforms that must be regulated by governments if we are to keep our kids safe. Until then, it is critical that parents keep talking to their teens about sextortion and reinforcing they can always come to you for help.