Threats for money over private photos or videos: what to do
For threats to share, or claims of having, your private photos or videos, unless you pay or do something else. Paying doesn't make it stop. Reporting it does more.
Do this first
- 1
Stop paying, and stop replying
Paying once almost always brings a demand for more, not an end to it. Stop replying, on every account they've contacted you from.
- 2
Keep every message and screenshot
Don't delete the chat, the images they sent you, or their profile, even though it's hard to look at. You'll need this to report it.
- 3
If you feel unsafe, call 112
If you think you are in immediate danger, call 112. Threats over a chat alone are not an emergency; the steps below are the route for those.
Step by step
- 1
Block, after saving the evidence
Block the account on every platform they've used, once you have your screenshots. Don't negotiate, explain yourself or ask them to stop; replying at all keeps the conversation open.
- 2
Report the account to the platform
Use the platform's own report option on the account and the messages. Say it's extortion, or threats over private images.
If a photo or video of you is already circulating, also use StopNCII.org: free, for adults who still have the image or video themselves, the same way as in the guide for morphed or private photos shared.
- 3
Report it on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
Choose "Register a Complaint". If they have sexually explicit images of you, choose "Women/Children Related Crime". If they only claim to have them, or the images are not sexual, choose "Other Cyber Crime": the portal lists Online Sextortion there. If you paid money, call 1930 and choose "Financial Fraud" instead.
You can register anonymously, or register and track with your name and mobile number. File one complaint, under whichever of these fits best, and quote its number everywhere after that. One thing to know before you choose: a complaint filed under Women/Children Related Crime cannot be withdrawn later. One under Other Cyber Crime can be, until it becomes an FIR.
- 4
Already paid? Call 1930 too
Call 1930 and tell them about the payment; money that hasn't moved on yet can sometimes be put on hold. Then follow the guide for money taken by UPI or bank fraud for the rest: your bank, the portal, and asking for held money back.
- 5
Contacted by phone, SMS or WhatsApp? Report the number on Chakshu
Report the number on Chakshu, on Sanchar Saathi, so it can be checked and, if it's being misused, cut off.
- 6
You can also go to the police
Threatening to share your photos, or demanding money this way, is a crime. Take your screenshots and your portal acknowledgement number to the police station.
An advocate can help if the police don't register your complaint.
Watch out
- Paying once almost always leads to more demands, not fewer.
- No one legitimate threatens you over a video call, or asks you to pay to avoid an arrest or settle a case; that's a separate scam, with the same advice: hang up and report it.
- If someone then calls posing as the police or an official and asks you to pay to close a case or remove a video, that's part of the same scam. The police don't settle cases for money over a call. Hang up and report it.
- The law protects you whether or not you were willing, tricked or persuaded when the photo or video was taken. Threatening to share it, or sharing it, is still a crime.
- Video calls can be recorded by the person on the other side without your knowledge, even on apps where you expect privacy.
When an advocate can help
You can do every step above yourself. An advocate helps when:
- You know who is threatening you and want a legal notice sent to them
- The police don't act on your complaint
- A platform's Grievance Officer or the Grievance Appellate Committee hasn't resolved it
Sources
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal · Ministry of Home Affairs
- Report abuse to social media platforms · Ministry of Home Affairs
- StopNCII.org · Non-government: run by SWGfL, a UK charity
- Chakshu, Sanchar Saathi · Department of Telecommunications
- The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Section 308 (extortion) and Section 77 (voyeurism) · Government of India, via IndiaCode
- Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, rule 3(2)(b) · Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
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This guide explains how to report a problem through official channels. It is not legal advice.