Sextortion is not only a crime against women. Police and child-safety organisations around the world report that a large share of victims are men and boys, often targeted by organised groups who pose as a young woman. In Mumbai, police arrested five people in late October 2026 for filming a businessman and demanding Rs 6 lakh, and the same month a racket using dating apps and hundreds of recorded videos was uncovered in Maharashtra.
Most victims are too ashamed to tell anyone, which is exactly what the blackmailer relies on. This guide explains how the trap usually works, what to do in the first hour, how to get images taken down, and the law that applies.
How the trap usually works
- A friendly profile, often with a young woman’s photos, sends a request or message on Instagram, Facebook, a dating app or a game chat.
- The conversation turns flirtatious quickly and moves to WhatsApp, Telegram or a video call.
- The victim is persuaded to send a photo or appear on a video call, which is recorded. Sometimes no real image is shared at all: the face from a short call or a profile photo is put onto a nude body with AI.
- Within hours, the threat arrives: pay, or the video goes to your family, friends, college or office. The blackmailer often shows a list of the victim’s followers or contacts.
- Payment rarely ends it. The demands usually continue.
The person behind the “girl” is often a man or a group working from another state or country. In some cases the same group also threatens to file a false complaint to frighten the victim into paying.
If you are being threatened right now
- Stop replying. Do not argue, plead or negotiate.
- Do not pay. Paying marks you as someone who pays.
- Do not delete anything. Take screenshots of the profile, username, profile link, phone numbers, the threats, and any UPI ID or bank account they give. Note dates and times.
- Report on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) or call 1930. If you have already paid, report immediately: the sooner the payment is reported, the better the chance of freezing it.
- File a written complaint at your police station or the cyber police. Take the screenshots and your phone.
- Report the profile to the platform after you have saved the evidence, then block it.
- Lock down your accounts. Make your profiles and follower lists private, and warn one or two close people if you are worried they will be contacted.
- Talk to someone you trust. You are the victim of a crime. You do not have to deal with it alone.
If the victim is under 18
When a child is targeted, the crime is more serious and the child is always treated as the victim.
- Stay calm with your child. Anger makes children hide things. What matters is stopping the blackmail.
- Do not forward or copy the images, even to send them to the police. Show the police the device instead.
- Report it. Offences involving sexual images of children fall under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and Section 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Report to the police and on cybercrime.gov.in. Childline 1098 can also help.
- Use Take It Down. The US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children runs a free service, Take It Down, for images taken when the person was under 18. It creates a digital fingerprint of the image on your own device, without uploading the image, so participating platforms can find and remove copies. A parent can use it on the child’s behalf.
Getting images taken down
| Route | For whom | How it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Take It Down (NCMEC) | Images taken under 18 | Fingerprints the image so participating platforms can remove it, without the image leaving your device |
| StopNCII.org | Adults | Works the same way for intimate images of adults shared or threatened without consent |
| Reporting to the platform | Everyone | Under the IT Rules, as amended in 2026, platforms in India must remove content showing nudity or morphed images of a person within 2 hours of a complaint |
| Police and cyber cell | Everyone | Can ask platforms to remove content and preserve data about the account |
Law that applies
| What the blackmailer did | Law |
|---|---|
| Demanded money by threatening to publish images | Extortion, Section 308, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 |
| Captured or shared private images without consent | Section 66E, Information Technology Act, 2000 |
| Sent or published obscene or sexually explicit material, including morphed images | Sections 67 and 67A, Information Technology Act |
| Pretended to be someone else | Cheating by personation, Section 319 BNS; Section 66D, IT Act |
| Targeted a child | Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012; Section 67B, IT Act |
For voice-clone calls and other deepfake scams, see Deepfake or AI Voice-Clone Scam: What to Do. If the person threatening you is an ex-partner, see Ex Threatening to Leak Private Photos or Videos. If your account has been taken over, see Hacked WhatsApp or Instagram Account.
Common questions
If I pay once, will they stop?
Usually not. Blackmailers who are paid tend to ask again.
Will I be in trouble for sending a photo?
The crime is the blackmail. An adult who was tricked into sharing a private image is the victim. A child who was tricked is always treated as the victim.
The image is fake. Is that still a crime?
Yes. Threatening someone for money is extortion whether the image is real or made with AI, and sending or publishing morphed sexual images is an offence under the IT Act.
What if they really do send it to my contacts?
Report it to the police and the platform at once, and ask the people who received it to report and delete it. People who know you are far more likely to see you as the victim of a scam than you fear.
Can they be traced if they are in another state or country?
Often, yes. Phone numbers, payment details and account data leave a trail, which is why saving that information matters.
Sources
- Mumbai sextortion case: five arrested by Marine Drive police, October 2026 (NewsX)
- Maharashtra dating-app sextortion racket, October 2026 (Gulf News)
- Take It Down, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- StopNCII.org
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
- Sextortion in India: a crime without definition, National Law University Odisha, October 2025 (journal article)
This guide is general information. If you or your child are being threatened, report it now; the sooner it is reported, the more can be done.