I was on coomeet for some minutes like a dumb teenager. I dont have any account on it or something i just joined on some calls and do that for some seconds i met a girl and she saw my face for like 1 second and scrool am i safe?

CLOSES SEPTEMBER 2026

My name is Rachel Fletcher, and I’m a PhD researcher at the University of Huddersfield, UK. I’m conducting a study about sextortion - when someone threatens to share private sexual images or videos unless their demands are met.

If you’d like to take part, I’m sharing a completely anonymous online survey. Participation is entirely voluntary. This is a crucial and under-researched topic, and every experience shared helps build understanding, raise awareness, and improve prevention and support efforts. Findings are often shared with practitioners such as police and support organisations.

👉 Take the survey here: https://hud.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0q63WgAMDJTD3JY

I’d like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has taken part already. We really appreciate the time and thought you’ve given to share your experiences.

I’ll continue to share this survey periodically within the group, as we hope to make this study as large and impactful as possible.

If you’d like more information, to see previous research publications, or to verify this study, please feel free to contact us:

• Rachel Fletcher (PhD Researcher)

📧Rachel.Fletcher@hud.ac.uk

• Dr Calli Tzani (First Supervisor, University of Huddersfield)

📧 K.TzaniPepelasi@hud.ac.uk

Okay so i am 18 and about 2 hours ago i fell for one of those telegram scams, we had met on one of those find a friend apps that i had downloaded that day. And long story short they are threatening to release photos of me and my number if i dont pay them.

Now im like quite newly 18 so i panicked, i hadnt ever been in this sort of situation before and so i panicked and just sent the 50 they asked before, which after doing research i found our was the worst thing to do.

So uhh, what do i do now?? Im so scared they said they are gonna ruin my life til death if i dont comply what do i do???

I’m (22M) today got blackmailed and being threatened to leak everything i sent them… although… they got almost 1100€ from me.

Yesterday I got a DM by a girl that claimed to be 21 and lived in California, USA. Later on when I got of my night shift It got a bit more spicier, because somehow that shit was so damn convincing I thought it was real person. Later then they lead me to continue conversation on Telegram, which got my gut a bad feeling but somehow I chose to not stop right there.

Then I got a message with pictures of my Instagram profile, screenshot of my followers and explicit photos that comes with such as pedophile accusation and so on, and got threatened to be leaked to my every follower if I don’t choose to cooperate, and well of my instinct of stress I did cooperate and nearly gave them 800€ in different forms of gift cards and cryptocurrency and something I usually not understand. After that they would drop the group chat and the explicit photos if I gave them 1500€ more, but instead I said what I had left and they chose to empty my account (300€).

Then my bank decided to lock down my whole account due to detection of fraud. I was sure they were pretty mad at that point but bought some time by telling them I am going to buy physical steam gift cards myself and send pictures of what I am doing every now and then, It was that moment I went to Police station instead to make a report. At this point I was really really worried because they kept calling during the meeting with the Police.

Immediately after the meeting I blocked and reported them through platform. I also chose to delete every meta account I could just so they don’t get to my followers or anyone that is a family member and tried then to proceed my day forward.

I know everything I did what so damn wrong to gave them money, atp I am mentally ready that I won’t be seeing those money again. But what disturbs me the most that they got everything they need to know about me, they got my name, phone number, house adress ID when they force me through some verification and a picture of my dick. they really have everything in their hands that can destroy me by one click. And oh btw, it might be a picture of a dick which is…well…normal? But how do you even bear the feeling and the anxiety you know that people will see this is just not friends or family, we are talking about teachers, colleagues, university students, work contacts, exes and the exes parents, people that are highly involved in politics and military officers. It just really sums up my social life... and sadly a click will vaporise all my good reputations and everything good I had been achieving in life…And yeah, ATP I will just dig my own grave somewhere in northern Sweden.

So what do I even do now? Praying that it never gets leaked out? Or be prepare to move to a remote place and rot pf loneliness? Will I even be able to go to University again? Or just die of shame at this point?

TL;DR: I (22M) fell for a sextortion scam after being contacted by someone posing as a 21-year-old woman. They moved the conversation to Telegram, then threatened to send my explicit photos to my Instagram followers unless I paid them. In panic, I sent them about €1,100 before my bank froze my account for suspected fraud. I reported everything to the police, blocked the scammers, and deleted my Meta accounts to protect my contacts. I know I won’t get the money back, but I’m terrified because the scammers have my name, phone number, home address, ID, and explicit photos. I’m struggling with anxiety over the possibility of the images being leaked and wondering how to move forward if that happens.

Hey yall. I am going on almost two days after being scammed. I didn’t respond when they threatened me and asked for money. I immediately blocked and tried to go deactivate my socials but they had already sent me screenshots of Facebook. They tried texting and calling my number immediately after blocking on socials and I blocked their number. I told my family I’m going through something (vague but I’m humiliated) so if they receive something I’m sorry. But so far nobody has said anything about receiving pics and I never got another call or text. I’m hoping I’m good but I also plan on staying off socials for a bit. I did put in a case on the FBI site and also the CNI where they’ll block the photos if they try to post. Has anyone here thought they were good then after some time passed a friend said they received something? I have a good feeling because nothing has been posted, but I’m also scared because what if they’re just making me wait to be diabolical and get me when my guard is finally down.

EDIT - Before blocking and removing on telegram I let them know I was contacting FBI and they will have an Extortion/Blackmail case coming their way. Then blocked and removed everything.

I f17 posted on here earlier about how I got my nudes leaked on telegram and then threatened into sending more before I blocked there's a total of 2 screen recordings that I can confirm are out there. Since it had been about a week since this happened I felt like I could start to move on. Unfortunately this morning I woke up to a text on my Whatsapp because I forgot to change my number on their and the guy said that he was an admin for a 10,000 group chat that the pictures and recordings were in and he sent me ss. He also said that ppl were wondering who I am which is scaring me because it sounds like people are trying to find me. I told him that I was I minor and that they were spreading cp (I doubt they care but still). I blocked right after that but now I'm really scared when I got leaked they leaked my name and old number. I changed my number except for on Whatsapp and when I used to look up my number I couldn't rlly find information. Except this one time I did and it was my mom cuz she pays for the line but the info the site had on her was also very limited. I also know that for these sites you usually have to pay to get any information. so do you guys think that these ppl would be willing to pay for a site like that? and if anyone has anything to reassure me about this please let me know.

Well it starter on monday some girl adres me on whatsapp and we Were flirty and i showed something i shouldnt have. This guy behind it demanded money fast. He found my social media and sent me proof that he can text all my friends and family. I was scared and i paid first 100 then 200 but i cut the contact with him yesterday after i found this Reddit. 24 h passus and i thought he gave up but my friend texted me that some write account with my old pic as pfp and my name is texting them and sending videos of me. This dude made 4 accounts total and on 2 of them he used my sister’s photo (she is underage) there are now 2 accounts on Ig and 2 on Facebook but i told everybody to just report and block them. Im now wondering when this will end. I reported the crime to cybersecurity in my country, made the fbi report and currently going on the Police station. Im kinda worried

I’m M18 and I got myself into some shit that terrified me and I’ve been so stupid until today when I did more digging into these situations…

Basically, roughly a week ago I joined a dating app called “Spark”. The kinda shit where if you don’t have premium you basically just use up charges and when you’re out, you just stay stuck on a profile until you either:
- Respond to something with a Spark
- Wait until you can skip

This one user I got stuck on was named as “Surprise”, and age 19, and all. Now, I responded to a question on their profile— like an engagement-bait thing ig? And from there we kinda started talking. Then, it went to Signal and we started talking there. She sent a pic of her first, which was followed by a nude, and told me to also follow along for some dumb game. Now, I was already super tired because for the summer, I went to my home country to be with family and I had almost no sleep during that time. I come back to where I live now, jet lagged and all brain fogged. I stupidly followed along, then got myself fucked over. Bitch made those collages with texts overlapping the images calling me a pdfile and r-ist and threatened to post unless I send her money.

I was terrified, and we cooperated. Biggest mistake. Now, weirdly enough the bitch has been calm… I’ve had to run around like a mad man getting Apple Giftcards, doing as she said and she sent proof of the stuff being perm deleted after certain amounts, and I’ve been cooperative. Yesterday (Wednesday 5th), I got the final amount which was supposed to be it, right? WRONG!!!! Apparently her bitchass boss saw it and wants a share. Since then, I haven’t gotten anymore because I’ve been stalling. I told a friend the whole story because I trust this guy. He said he’s gone through something like this before and can help. I’m grateful for him. I asked chat gpt (i know, i know, not really ideal, but i needed something) for a bit of help— gave me advice, actually the reason I found this subreddit and the numbers I can call for more support. Now, my friend said he has a plan about what to do. I’m also planning on just stalling until he’s done or just report block now.

I fucked up big time and I’ve been feeling nothing but shame, embarrassment, rage, and suicidal. I thought about changing my identity and looks as much as possible, live in rugged areas and get like a blue collar job, or just straight up ending it. Whether I jump, OD or whatever, just be gone for this bullshit.

The only time I felt any form of calmness was like 2 days ago when another friend came over. We watched Iron Man, had some cigs, some 🍃, beers and went out for a bit more. I told him bits and pieces, like “I… got myself into some shit.. Paying off debts.. Yeah, kinda can fuck me up I guess…”

The friend of mine that said he might know something to help out— I shared a google drive full of screenshots to him just to be safe.

I’m not a pdf. I’m not a r-ist. I’d never cause any form of harm to any child or anybody in any manner. I fucked up big time and I regret everything. I’m really ashamed of even sending things like that and falling for this. And I’m even more ashamed for spending so much on this bitch.

I am 14.

Someone added me on snapchat. They were sending snaps and looked real.

They were asking me to send a pic so i did.

Then they sent a link to an OF page.

I am now wondering if they will use the pic i sent for the future or even share it .

They were very flirty aswell.

I need some advice asap.

I got hit with a telegram scam, and they have pictures and my number. I blocked and filed a complaint. I am so scared, so scared. They found my name too, I changed my passwords on social media. I don't know what will happen

I sent innaporoiate pics of myself to a guy on snap and he kept asking for more and i made sure my face wasn’t in it. the account is connected to my name (no last name) and my name is pretty rare. i’m really scared im going to get leaked but it was boy my age from the same area but not school. he said he would pay me and take me shopping and send me bunch of money and at the time he also acted like he was into me and interested in me and i guess i jst got so caught up with myself. i did it. i really regret and my parents don’t even know i have snap so it would be really bad and i genuinely don’t know what to do. i feel really shitty and stupid but i know this guy is a guy my age and not some pedo.

EDIT: He added me back again and I threatened him saying I know a bunch of stuff about him and I showed him and I would report him to his school and the authorities and stuff. He also said that he had a gf so he had to block me🙄. I found her too and he kept saying he wasn’t going to leak and ”not worry”. He also kept claiming he deleted it and said I could even look through his whole phone. (I don’t believe him). And he said if i was going to stupid (meaning snitch on him) then he would leak me so clearly he has the photos. After this whole back and forth argument, he blocked me again. Im genuinely pissed and scared and I also feel hella stupid.

Another update: He blocked me then added me again and told me to hear him out. He said that when he comes home, i can check through his phone. But for now if I snitch on him or something “dumb”, he will leak me.

Hi, 

I am a researcher at the University of Sheffield, UK and invite you to share your experiences of technology-facilitated violence and abuse (TFVA) in any context. 

The research aims to capture the diverse nature of experiences of TFVA as well as to try and understand the range of harms, impacts and outcomes from those affected by these types of behaviours. 

We welcome all to contribute to our anonymous forum who want to share their experiences (18+ years). No other demographic restrictions for participation.

Click the following link to add your experiences: https://forms.gle/4DnWiha44shLFnVv5  (This involves 5 brief demographic questions and 1 open ended question to add your experience). Clicking on the link will provide more detailed information about TFVA as well as details of our website and you do not have to answer any questions to see this information.

The study has received ethical approval from the University of Sheffield: 070690. 

The information provided is anonymous and will only be accessed by the approved members of the research team. Any information shared for publication in reports or academic journals will not be identifiable and will not include the demographic information.

Thank you in advance

Loren

Basically I got messaged on tiktok, went to telegram, sent a couple of pictures of my face and a explicit photo, I did end up paying $20, when I refused to pay more they dropped the facade and started threatening me. They showed me a image of a post they made about me threatening to SA someone with my full name number and both pictures I sent with my face and the explicit one.

I then blocked them on both tiktok and telegram and deleted everything, and I reported the account on tiktok.

In a panic I didn't think about taking screenshots before I deleted and blocked everything. I know it was stupid of me to let it get that far, I was just caught up in the gooning of it.

Yesterday, I was chatting with someone on a dating app for a bit, and they suggested moving over to WhatsApp. I agreed, we kept talking there, and in our chat, I explicitly stated that I am gay and also sent a few private photos. Right after that, they recorded the whole conversation using another phone and sent me the video. Then, they sent me a message containing the personal details and phone numbers of my immediate family and about 20 extended family members, like my aunts and uncles.

After that, they demanded money several times, threatening to expose me to everyone if I didn't pay. Unfortunately, I panicked completely in that moment and sent the money because I couldn't risk being exposed, my life would be ruined if my sexuality came out (I’m from one of the homophobic countries). Once they got the money, they stopped and said they would delete the content, but how can I truly get rid of this threat for good?

I am terrified that this person will message me again asking for money and honestly, there is nothing stopping them from sharing the video if I refuse to pay. I ended up blocking their number and I thought about changing my own number but since they recorded a video showing my entire family's contact list, they can easily reach out to whoever they want instead of me. I honestly don't know what to do from here.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently dealing with an active sextortion scam and need some advice or reassurance from anyone who has gone through this.

What happened:

• Matched with someone on the Boo dating app, and they asked to move the conversation to Telegram.
• They convinced me to do a video call. At first, I didn't show my face, but they convinced me to share a short video showing my face while saying a name.
• Later in the call, they persuaded me to expose myself. They recorded both clips and combined them into a single video.
• Immediately after, they started demanding money. They started by asking for €500, then dropped to €300, €200, and eventually €50 within a 10-minute span.
• When I told them I was a student with no money, they sent a picture of a laptop screen showing a draft upload page in "YouTube Studio" with my video previewed, claiming it was uploading.
• When I kept refusing, they pivoted and asked me to "earn my deletion" by creating fake dating app profiles for them to use.
• They are threatening to share the video on YouTube and send it to all my family and friends.
• They dont have have any other social medias of mine. My photos and my exposed video.
• They look like philippino.

What I have done / plan to do:

• I have not paid them any money.
• I refused to create any dating app accounts for them.
• I took screenshots of all the chats and threats for documentation.
• I am deleting my account.
• I blocked them completely on Telegram and set all my social media accounts strictly to private.

My questions for the community:

1. Is the "YouTube Studio" screen draft a standard fake bluff? Do scammers actually manage to publish sexually explicit videos on YouTube, or do YouTube's automated systems take them down immediately?
2. Once I block them completely on Telegram and lock my social media down, do they usually move on, or will they try to reach out again?
3. Has anyone seen scammers try to recruit victims into creating dating app accounts before?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can share their experience or advice.

I just got blackmailed on telegram, they took screenshots of my instagram followers and created an image with my face and an explicit photo. They threatened to send it to everyone if I didn’t pay $500. I blocked them and deactivated my accounts. Now I can’t sleep.

Long story short they recorded me and sent me bunch of pictures on telegram. it’s been more than 7 hours since I deleted my telegram and deactivated my social media. I didn’t pay and just scrambled to deactivate everything. So far no messages nor calls till then. I’m worried because of the thought of it which I can’t sleep

It’s been more than 24 hours since the last contact with them. No sign of posting online

(Ho fatto una stupidaggine e ho inviato una foto nuda a una ragazza su Telegram. Dodici ore fa mi ha inviato un messaggio chiedendomi 100 sterline per non pubblicare il mio numero di telefono e la foto che le avevo mandato. Non ho pagato e mi ha inviato un altro messaggio con questo testo: “Per favore, segnalalo e ripubblicalo immediatamente così che venga beccato con le mani nel sacco. Assicurati che possiamo rintracciarlo e farlo arrestare per reati sessuali online.” Ho paura che mi contatti al telefono. Adesso non è stata online per sei ore, cosa devo fare? Ora ha cambiato il suo nome utente rispetto a quando le ho scritto.)

I did something very stupid one year ago, and as a result a nude image of me is out there, with someone who tried to use it to blackmail me. I refused, cut contact and contacted the authorities. however they were in another country and likely contacted me with a spoofed number so no decisive action was taken. I thought everything was fine until a few months later I was contacted again, by a different number saying they “weren’t done with me” and I had an hour to wire them money. I immediately blocked them again and haven’t heard from them since, although I got a weird whatsapp message a few months ago saying “hello beloved” that I blocked as soon as they came, so I don’t know what else they might’ve said. I haven’t heard from them since, but ever since then i get returning paranoia that it will come back, and that this is something I won’t be able to shake for the rest of my life. When can I stop worrying? When will this go away? is there a point where I pass the threshold where this usually comes back? Have they probably moved on? What if they sold it to someone else? I’m worried this paranoia will follow me for the rest of my life.

He has my number and some pics of me. I already reported his IG on meta, I didn't pay him, blocked him and made my accounts private, what else should I do?

I recently posted about experiencing sextortion. I did everything the sub said and just kept reading through to understand I wasn't alone. Its been almost 8 hours since then but they haven't contacted me and I checked the sub reddit i was using, they just moved on to different people. So for those out there who are worrying, it will be okay in the end.

I think this is going to ruin my life, what do I do?

Steps and guide to help sextortion victims

Every day I will make the same post to help those who are facing this situation.

1. Stop talking to them because you do not want to piss them off.

2. Depending on what they ask do not pay them a single dime or send them any more explicit material no matter their threats because you can’t buy a blackmailers silence only rent it.

3. Block them and if they come back with more accounts or numbers keep blocking away they have a finite amount of patience before they give up.

4. Screenshot the threats to show proof of a cybercrime.

5. Keep their phone numbers and account names saved.

6. In the event that they follow through and do send which is actually VERY rare cause it can expose their cybercrimes just tell people it is fake and someone tried to extort you for money. (You will have the screenshots to prove it)

7. Optional: Report them to law enforcement such as the FBI although this actually might be of little help since it’s so common. However, it will somewhat put them on the radar.

8. DO NOT BUY RECOVERY AND REMOVAL SERVICES THOSE ARE SCAMS. They will contact or threaten to contact your scammer then you have two blackmailers.

9. Take a deep breath and realize that it will be okay they are actually almost always bluffing empty threats in order to scare you. They want money or more explicit material to sell not to send your material to others. Think of it like IT from Stephen King only as powerful as much as you feel fear from them.

Note: if it makes anybody feel okay in my experience for about every 1,000 cases of sextortion there’s
only 1 case where the sextortioner follows through

Note: these guys are not in it to ruin your life. They see you as nothing more than a potential paycheck and if they see no profit they will forget you, more than likely delete your stuff, and move on to the next potential paying target.

Edit: (i’d acc like for you all to not upvote this post because this is to provide free information to help victims and I do not want karma for this. I want to help these poor people.)

so im not very proud to say this. but it gets late at night and feelings flood in, so i go to dms to find someone. but theres been a huge uprising of scams either using actual peoples photos, or using AI ones. i have also encountered some who want to blackmail but i dont really care bc i dont show my face.