Teachers across the UK are being asked to help identify pupils who may be victims of sextortion, a crime that the National Crime Agency (NCA) says is on the rise. Teenage boys are considered among the most vulnerable groups, with criminal gangs often based abroad using real and fake images to blackmail victims.
The NCA has issued fresh guidance to hundreds of thousands of teachers, warning that perpetrators can move from initial contact to extortion within an hour. “Sextortion is a callous crime. Perpetrators have no concern for victims or the lives that might be destroyed in the process. Their sole motivation is financial gain,” said James Babbage, the NCA’s director general for threats.
The alert comes as the family of Murray Dowey, a 16-year-old from Dunblane, Scotland, spoke out after he took his own life following a sextortion attempt. His mother described how he was targeted on the night he died, just feet away from his parents. “He just needed to come through to our bedroom. So it’s about putting the phone down, walking away, saying to someone else ‘this has happened, what the hell do I do?’ Murray didn’t do that and we lost him,” she said.
The NCA’s Ceop child protection team noted a “considerable increase in global cases” of sextortion. The US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported a more than 100% rise in cases from 2022-23, with a large proportion involving male victims aged 14 to 18. The guidance advises teachers on spotting signs, supporting young people, and encouraging them to seek help, as well as providing information for parents and carers.
Security Minister Tom Tugendhat urged technology companies to implement stronger safeguards and parents to talk to children about social media use. Victims are advised never to pay, to block and report the contact, and to save evidence. Many criminal gangs behind the threats are based in west Africa and south-east Asia.
