Child-in-Trouble Sextortion of a Parent
A scammer claims to have compromising material about your child, or that your child did something requiring hush money, and threatens exposure unless you pay.
Think a message like this reached you? You can check it right now.
What this scam is
A scammer contacts a parent claiming they have embarrassing or compromising material involving the parent's child (real or fabricated, sometimes AI-generated), or that the child is caught in a scandal or crime, and demands payment to keep it quiet. It weaponizes a parent's protective instinct and shame. Paying invites more demands. The claim is usually false or exaggerated; verifying with the child and refusing to pay is the path.
What it usually looks like
- A threat about your child's reputation or safety.
- A demand for hush money to prevent exposure.
- Fabricated or AI-generated 'evidence.'
- Pressure and secrecy.
Common warning signs
- Payment demanded to protect your child's reputation.
- Threats to expose material to family/school/work.
- Untraceable payment methods.
- Refusal to let you verify with your child.
Example wording scammers use
“I have explicit photos of your daughter. Pay $2,000 in crypto or I send them to her school and your family.”
“Your son is in serious trouble — pay now to make this go away quietly.”
These are illustrative examples written by ScamSplain, not real messages.
What the scammers want
- Hush money via untraceable methods.
- To exploit parental fear and shame.
- Ongoing payments.
This is general safety information, not professional advice. It is not legal, financial, medical, or immigration advice, and it does not create a professional relationship. For your own situation, speak with a qualified professional or the official organisation involved. If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number.
What to do
- Do not pay; paying leads to more demands.
- Talk with your child calmly. Make clear they are not in trouble — offenders rely on a child being too ashamed to tell anyone. You do not need to see anything to help.
- Save the threatening messages and the account details. Do not save, copy, or forward any image. Give the account details to law enforcement and use NCMEC's Take It Down to have the image removed.
- Report to the platform and authorities.
What to do if you already responded
- If you are overwhelmed or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, US) — it is free, 24/7, and confidential.
- Report to the FBI at ic3.gov; for anyone under 18 involved, report to NCMEC's CyberTipline.
- Contact gift-card/crypto providers if you paid.
- Report at reportfraud.ftc.gov; seek support.