Young children, aged between 11 and 13, are being targeted by sextortion criminals for the first time, according to data from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). This concerning trend highlights how criminals are broadening their reach in attempts to ensnare victims. Sextortion involves tricking teenagers, mostly boys but also increasingly girls, into sending intimate photos to fraudsters via social media or messaging platforms. These criminals then Demand money and threaten to share the material with others.
In 2023, the UK-based internet safety watchdog, IWF, received five confirmed reports of children aged 11 to 13 falling victim to sextortion attempts out of a total of 175 incidents involving under-17s. Although this number is slightly lower than the 176 recorded the previous year, the IWF emphasizes that sextortion remains a significant problem.
Tamsin McNally, the IWF’s hotline manager, expressed concern over the targeting of younger children, fearing that the prevalence of such incidents will increase. Last month, parents at a primary school in Edinburgh were alerted to check their children’s devices after an eight-year-old girl was targeted by a sextortion scam. The school informed parents about an individual impersonating students on Snapchat, and the police confirmed they were investigating “several reports” of indecent images being shared.
A new trend observed by the IWF involves criminals accusing victims of being perpetrators of a sex crime, adding additional pressure for the victims to pay the perpetrator. Last year, the National Crime Agency warned international cybercriminals of possible extradition as they intensified efforts to combat sextortion. West Africa, especially Nigeria, has become a hotspot for sextortion gangs, according to the NCA.
McNally highlighted that without awareness of an online system designed to remove sexual images from the internet, some children will continue to live in fear of the consequences of a sextortion attack. The Report Remove service, operated by the IWF and the NSPCC, allows children to anonymously report intimate images or videos of themselves that have appeared or could appear online, which tech platforms can then remove. In 2023, the service processed 1,142 reports, a 44% increase from the previous year, with nearly half of the images coming from the 14- to 15-year-old age group.
A parent who remained anonymous stated that the service was a “gamechanger” for their family after their 16-year-old son was targeted by sextortion fraudsters. Derek Ray-Hill, the IWF’s interim chief executive, stressed that there has never been a greater need for the Report Remove tool, emphasizing that the figures underscore the relentless targeting of children online by offenders who exploit their vulnerability to coercion, exploitation, and abuse.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/09/children-in-uk-as-young-as-11-targeted-by-sextortion-criminals-data-reveals
