Four steps on what to do if you are being sextored. Graphic by Erik Lukie.

In the modern age of social media and technology, people can connect with individuals they never would organically. 

While this is a tool that has helped countless people make special bonds with others, it has also created an opportunity for phishing and blackmail via a new tactic called sextortion. 

Sextortion refers to the exploitation of an individual by using nude or explicit photographs of them typically for monetary gain. 

John Doe, a past victim of sextortion says it is easier than you think to fall for these ploys with how comfortable people can be with someone they’ve never met through social media. 

“Looking back at it, I’m surprised I fell for it, but the person blackmailing me talked for weeks prior like anyone would with someone new they have met.” 

According to cybertip.ca, seven sextortion cases are reported each day on average over the past year. 

This is concerning, as the total number of reported cases has increased by 88 per cent over the past year. 

Reilly Knock, a former police constable, says the increase in cases over the past year is alarming for many reasons.  

“Each year we were receiving more and more cases being reported and the ages involved in these cases were beginning to become younger each year.” 

Now kids as young as 13 are being sextorted by people online through social media and other online platforms. 

The majority of sextortion cases target victims aged 14 to 24 with 83 per cent of cases being male victims. 

Males are typically asked for money by the anonymous perpetrators while females are asked for more pictures.  

While anonymity is a major part of these sextortionists’ operations, they are also strategic about who they target.

According to “Sextortion: Ad campaign targets youth as reports of online sexual exploitation increase” published by Lily Dupuis on Oct. 26, 2023, to CBC, the majority of cases take place between Instagram and Snapchat. 

Things typically begin on Instagram and transfer over to Snapchat due to its anonymity and lack of data storage. 

Knock says that Snapchat has become the focus area for many of these online predators. 

“Snapchat is the place where most cases we received were reported to take place, sadly Snapchat is also one of the harder platforms for us to track.” 

Unlike Instagram and other social media platforms, Snapchat messages are deleted after 24 hours of viewing. 

Doe says this makes it hard to keep track of things if you haven’t saved the messages or exchanges that have taken place. 

“When I fell victim, I felt lost because I didn’t have a lot of proof besides the threats about what happened between us.” 

A lack of evidence or support leads to many victims feeling lost in what to do or where to go. 

Knock says he is happy with the work done by the government and organizations such as the Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) because it encourages victims to find help and come to the police about these personal issues. 

“There has been a lot of good work done by organizations to help bring people to the police to get help and report these crimes.” 

Thanks to resources provided by the Government of Alberta and other organizations across the province, victims now have use to tools and information about how to navigate these situations. 

The ever-changing and expanding world of sextortion has more people falling victim to these internet threats every day. 

For those who have been sextorted or phished online, resources to help you can be found at alert-ab.ca.