Your child's phone may look like a doorway to games, friends, videos, and homework. For criminals, it can also be a doorway to a potential victim.
The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report shows that people under 20 filed 31,254 complaints with IC3. The FBI also received more than 75,000 sextortion-related submissions during 2025, and more than 5,700 submissions involving minors were referred to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. For children and teenagers, however, the danger isn't simply about money.
Sextortion occurs when someone obtains, or claims to have obtained, intimate images and then threatens to share them unless the victim provides more images, money, or something else the criminal demands.
The FBI has repeatedly warned that young people are being targeted through social media, gaming platforms, and messaging apps. Victims are often between 10 and 17 years old, although the FBI has seen victims as young as 9. And once the threats begin, criminals may pressure victims to keep everything secret.
That's why parents need to make one thing crystal clear: If something happens online, your child will not be in trouble for telling you.
Talk to them before there is a problem. Children need to know that online "friends" aren't necessarily friends, photos can be copied and shared, and someone claiming to be their age may not be. Remember “stranger danger”? It exists online too.
Parents should also know what platforms their children use, who they communicate with, and how to report suspicious behavior.
If a child is being threatened or extorted, don't pay, don't send additional images, and don't continue negotiating with the criminal. Save the evidence and report it to law enforcement.
The FBI also recommends reporting internet crimes to IC3 and child exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
The internet can be a wonderful place for kids, but it isn't a neighborhood where everyone has good intentions. The best defense may be an open conversation that makes sure your child knows they can come to you, especially when something online feels wrong.
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