Sextortion victims: skip paid 'removal' firms, use these free options first

Anyone facing sextortion threats should go to free, official channels before paying a company that promises to make the problem disappear. According to the Federal Trade Commission, one such company, Digital Forensics, ran websites including BlackmailHelpline.com, DigitalForensics.com, CyberBlackmail911.com, and SecurityBreach911.com.

The FTC's lawsuit alleges Digital Forensics promised to stop sextortion threats, prevent explicit material from spreading online, and report perpetrators to criminal authorities. Customers were charged thousands of dollars for these promises. The promises were not kept, according to the lawsuit, and people already dealing with a frightening situation were left with a financial burden on top of it.

What to do right now

Do not pay the blackmailer. Do not give them access to devices or financial accounts. Ignore their messages and stop all contact. Tell someone trusted: a friend, a family member, a counselor. Saying it out loud to one person takes away some of the isolation the threat depends on.

Report the person making the threats to local police and to the FBI, at fbi.gov or 1-800-225-5324. If a minor is involved, report through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline. Sextortion is a crime, and reporting it is a law enforcement matter, not a transaction with a private company.

If intimate images have already been shared

Report it directly to the platform where the images appear. Under the Take It Down Act, platforms must remove intimate images within 48 hours of a request, at no cost. If a platform misses that 48-hour window, report it to the FTC at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.

Before paying anyone for help

Search the company's name alongside words like "scam," "review," or "complaint," and read past the paid search results at the top of the page. A company charging thousands of dollars to do what the Take It Down Act already requires for free is a company worth checking before a card number goes anywhere near it.

Free support exists too. Minors and families can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. Adults can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

The sequence matters here. The free legal remedy, platform removal under the Take It Down Act, comes before any paid service, not after it. Someone who pays a company first and asks questions later has already handed over money for something the law says should have cost nothing from the start.