Part 2: Who's Talking to Your Kids?
Sextortion and AI-Generated Images
In Part 1, we walked through how online grooming works: finding a child, building a connection, creating secrecy, pushing boundaries, and taking control. This part covers what often happens at the end of that process, and it's growing fast.
What Is Sextortion?
Sextortion is when someone threatens to share sexual images, videos, or information unless the victim gives them money, more images, sexual activity, or something else they want.
It's growing fast. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received more than 50,000 reports of financially motivated sextortion in 2025. That's about 137 reports every single day, up from more than 36,000 the year before.
Who's Being Targeted
Any child can be targeted. But according to the FBI, in money-driven sextortion, victims are typically boys between 14 and 17. The offenders are usually overseas, often in West Africa or Southeast Asia, running it like a business.
The pattern is fast:
A friendly message, often from someone posing as a teenage girl.
Flirting, then an exchange of images.
An immediate demand for money, with threats to send the images to family, friends, and the school.
It can go from "hi" to blackmail in under an hour.
The FBI also reports an alarming number of suicides among boys targeted by these schemes. These kids felt trapped, ashamed, and alone. Many of them never told their parents.
These Aren't Statistics. They're Kids.
Jordan DeMay was a 17-year-old athlete from Marquette, Michigan. In 2022, two brothers in Nigeria posed as a girl online, got a photo, and demanded money. Jordan died by suicide that same night. Both men are now serving more than 17 years in federal prison.
Gavin Guffey, 17, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, died the same way that summer. His father, Brandon, now a state lawmaker, fought to pass Gavin's Law so others would face real consequences.
In 2025, 16-year-old Elijah Heacock of Kentucky was threatened with fake, AI-generated nude images of himself. He never sent a real photo.
Each of these boys believed he was out of options. He wasn't. That's why the conversation you have tonight matters.
The offender's most powerful weapon isn't the image. It's your child's fear of telling you.
Teach Your Child This Before It Happens
Have this conversation now, while it's calm. Say the words out loud:
"If someone ever gets an image of you, come to us. You will not be in trouble. We'll deal with it together."
"Don't pay. Don't send more. Paying never makes it stop."
"The person threatening you is the one committing the crime. Asking for help is how we take back control."
The FBI says it plainly: this is not the victim's fault.
AI Has Changed the Threat
An offender no longer needs a real nude image of your child.
Today's AI tools, including so-called "nudify" apps, can take an ordinary photo (a school picture, a sports photo, a selfie from Instagram) and turn it into a realistic fake nude in seconds. AI can also clone a voice, create a fake video, or invent a whole conversation that never happened.
This isn't rare. In a 2024 survey of young people ages 13 to 20, Thorn found that 1 in 8 personally knew someone who had been targeted with deepfake nudes as a minor, and about 1 in 17 said it had happened to them.
It's Not Only Strangers
Some of these images are made by offenders running sextortion schemes. But many are made by classmates. Kids have used nudify apps to create fake images of other students and passed them around school. To the child in the picture, the humiliation is just as real.
What Your Family Should Know
A sexual image can be faked from any ordinary photo.
A familiar face or voice is no longer proof of who someone is.
Offenders may pretend to be classmates, crushes, teachers, or family members.
Fake images still cause real trauma, harassment, and damage to a child's reputation.
Kids should report it even when they know the image is fake.
What the Law Says Now
The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed in May 2025, made it a crime to knowingly publish, or threaten to publish, intimate images of someone without consent, and it specifically covers AI-generated "digital forgeries." Penalties are tougher when the victim is a minor.
As of May 19, 2026, covered platforms must also remove reported images within 48 hours of a valid request. That gives families real leverage when a fake or real image shows up online.
What to Say to Your Child:
"If anyone ever shows you a picture of you that's fake, or makes one of a friend, tell me. You're not in trouble, and neither is your friend."
"If someone at school makes fake pictures of a classmate, sharing them makes you part of it. Don't forward it. Tell an adult."
If Sextortion Happens: What Parents Should Do
1. Don't Punish Your Child
Your first words matter more than anything else you'll say:
"I'm glad you told me."
"You are not in trouble."
"This is not your fault."
"We're going to handle this together."
If telling you means humiliation or losing every device, your child may keep cooperating with the offender instead of coming to you.
2. Stop the Contact, but Save the Evidence
Don't send money or more images.
Don't negotiate with or threaten the offender.
Don't forward explicit images to anyone.
Save usernames, profile links, messages, payment demands, dates, and the platform name.
Screenshot the threats when you can do it without capturing or sharing the images themselves.
Check with law enforcement before deleting accounts or conversations.
Block the offender after you've saved what you need.
Never download, copy, or share sexual images of a minor, even to collect evidence. Save the surrounding messages and account details, and let law enforcement guide you.
3. Report It
NCMEC's CyberTipline: report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678
The FBI: tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI
Your local police department
The platform where it happened
4. Use Take It Down
NCMEC's free Take It Down tool helps get nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images of someone under 18 removed from participating platforms. It creates a digital fingerprint, called a hash, of the image right on your device. The image itself is never uploaded or sent to anyone, and you can stay anonymous.
5. Watch Your Child Closely
Sextortion can push a child into a very dark place, fast. If your child talks about hopelessness, self-harm, or feeling like they've "ruined everything," take it seriously. Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and if they're in immediate danger, call 911.
Trust Your Gut
If your child suddenly seems terrified of their phone, desperate for money, or ashamed and withdrawn, don't wait. Sit down, stay calm, and open the door. Never doubt your gut feelings.
Coming Up in Part 3
In Part 3, we'll take a clear-eyed look at the dark web, the violent online networks the FBI is warning parents about, and two growing threats every family should understand: doxxing and swatting.
Go Deeper: Protect Your Family's Digital Life
This series is a strong start. If you want the complete playbook, there are two premium guides from Prepared Not Paranoid that take it further:
Hooked: The Dangers of Social Media How social media is built to keep kids (and adults) hooked, and how that same design opens the door to manipulation, cyberbullying, scams, sextortion, and exploitation. You'll learn to recognize manipulation earlier and build healthier digital habits as a family. Get Hooked
Cyber Safety: A Beginner's Guide to Protecting Your Digital Footprint A practical, step-by-step guide to securing your family's digital footprint: accounts, passwords, privacy settings, devices, and the personal information that's already out there about you. Get Cyber Safety
Sources
NCMEC Releases New Sextortion Data for 2025, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Financially Motivated Sextortion, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Take It Down, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Is Your Explicit Content Out There?, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Disclaimer
This article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is designed to help families recognize warning signs and start important conversations. It is not a substitute for professional advice, training, or services, including legal, medical, mental health, or law enforcement guidance. Laws and reporting requirements vary by state and change over time. Prepared Not Paranoid and Larry Betz are not responsible for the content of third-party websites or resources linked here and make no guarantee of their accuracy or completeness.
If you suspect a child is being exploited online, report it to NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678, and contact local law enforcement. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.
Prepared Not Paranoid. Protecting the Most Vulnerable Among Us.
