Police Scotland taking 'sextortion' reports 'very seriously'

One of Scotland's top police officers is urging young people not to be ashamed if they have been a victim of "sextortion".

The force revealed that the number of teens being blackmail after being tricked into sending intimate photos of themselves has increased by 61 percent in the last year.

Crimestoppers is now launching a national campaign titled 'Fearless' to try and raise awareness and educate young people about the support on offer.

Criminals threaten to share nude or semi-nude photographs of their victim (often to the victim’s personal contacts on social media) if money isn’t paid or if the victim fails to comply with some other harmful demand.

The image may be a real photo taken by the victim or a fake image that the criminal has created to pursue blackmail.

The Fearless campaign will target young people of all genders aged 13 – 21 living in Scotland, but a large proportion of cases have involved male victims aged between 14-18.

Ninety one per cent of victims in UK sextortion cases dealt with by the Internet Watch Foundation in 2023 were male.

'Tip of the iceberg'

ACC Steven Johnson said: "I think we're at the tip of the iceberg with this.

"We only know what's reported to us, but we know we're at the leading edge of this, we know we need to do more to encourage people to report it.

"There's a lot of fear out there, a lot of embarrassment, a lot of human emotions, but we're really keen that people come forward.

"This has harms around self-esteem, self-confidence and their worth in society and we know that people end up committing self harm or ultimately taking their own lives.

"It's an absolute tragedy in every sense of the word and that's why we take it very seriously.

"Don't panic, don't pay or comply with the instructions of the criminal - because it is a criminal who's on the other end of whatever device you're on - and get support."

'You won't face any blame'

Lyndsay McDade, Fearless Scotland Manager at Crimestoppers, said: “We know that sextortion can have a massive and devastating impact on the victim, especially if they feel unable to get help because of embarrassment or fear of being judged or getting into trouble.

“Whilst developing the campaign, I worked with a number of youth groups across the country to find out what young people’s understanding of sextortion was, what gaps we could fill and, importantly, what they would most likely engage with on social media.

“Fear of getting into trouble was a big concern for young people, so to be clear – if this has happened to you, it is not your fault – you are a victim. You won’t face any blame, people just want to help you. Please talk to an adult, go to the Police directly or contact Childline.

“And for adults, as a mum of teenagers myself, I know how difficult this topic can seem."

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