takeitdown.ncmec.org

Sextortion just happened to you? Here is the 24 hour playbook that actually works. If you are reading this in panic, breathe. Read all the way through before you do anything. The next 24 hours matter and a few moves you might be tempted to make right now will hurt your case. I do takedown work for a living so I see this every week. The pattern is almost always the same: someone slid into DMs (Instagram, Snapchat, sometimes Discord), built a connection over days or weeks, persuaded the victim to send intimate photos or video, then immediately flipped to "pay me $500 in Bitcoin or I send these to your mom, your boss, your school." It is a script. It is coordinated. And the playbook to shut it down is also a script. ## Things to do, in this exact order **1. Stop replying. Right now.** Every reply confirms you are scared and gives them more leverage. Do not negotiate. Do not ask them to wait. Do not say "please." Their script treats emotional engagement as a paying customer signal. Silence is the only correct response. **2. Screenshot everything before you block.** Profile, message history with timestamps, any payment instructions, any threats, any usernames they reference, any photos they sent first if any. Save to your phone gallery and email yourself copies. You will need this evidence for steps 4 and 5. Then block. **3. Do NOT pay.** 100% of the time, paying makes it worse. They mark you as a paying mark and either come back for more or sell your file to other extortion crews. FBI guidance is unambiguous: do not pay. The threats are mostly bluff because actually distributing the content gets them prosecuted under the TAKE IT DOWN Act (federal, signed 2025) and they know it. Most cases never see content posted. **4. Tell one trusted person within 24 hours.** This is the single highest leverage move you can make. Sextortion runs on shame. The threat is "your people will find out." The instant ONE of those people already knows, the leverage drops to almost ze