Sextortion: Don’t Pay. Don’t Send More.

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What this lesson is about

Sextortion is blackmail: someone threatens to share a sexual image or video unless you pay, send more, or do something else. It can happen in minutes, and it works by creating panic, shame and a fake deadline. This lesson gives you a plan instead: Stop. Don’t pay. Save. Tell. Report. It works even if the threat is a bluff, the image is fake, or you already paid. It is never too late to stop.

By the end, you will be able to

• Describe how sextortion works, and recognize early warning signs.
• Explain why paying or sending more makes things worse.
• Know what to save (the threat, not the image) and where to report.
• Use the exit plan, even after a bluff, a fake image, or paying.

Your answers stay on this device. Nothing you type here is sent to anyone. We only count how many people open this lesson.

Key words

Try to define each word in your head, then tap the card to check.

Think of any time you panicked: a lost phone, a missed exam, a message you regretted.
This lesson never asks about your own experiences.

The exit plan: Stop. Don’t pay. Save. Tell. Report. Paying rarely ends it, because blackmailers often ask for more. Sending more gives them more control. A deadline (“you have 1 hour”) is there to make you panic. And if someone blackmails you, it is never your fault.

Where does it go?

Pick a zone for each behavior.

Read each situation, decide whether it shows a safe move, a warning sign, or a moment to act now, and think about the safest next move. Then check your thinking.

Your next conversation should be with someone helping you, not with the blackmailer. Pick a scenario, write the first thing the character should do, then who they would tell and how they would report.

Five questions. Pick an answer to see whether it's right and why.

The exit plan

Tell someone now, not after the deadline. You can say: “Someone is threatening me online. I’m scared they’ll share something. I need help.” Save the threat, account details, date, time and payment demand, but never the image. If the image was taken before you were 18 and is already on your device, Take It Down can help limit sharing without uploading it. It is never too late to stop, even if you already paid or sent more.

Teaching this in class?

Everything you need to run this lesson with a group of students in about 50 minutes. All files are A4 PDFs, ready to print.