Staffordshire Police launches campaign to raise awareness about ' financially motivated sexual extortion'

A campaign has launched today to encourage parents to speak to their children about the “risk of financially motivated sexual extortion” and it’s being led by Staffordshire Police.

There was six reported ‘sextortion’ cases reported between 2024 and 2025 in Staffordshire, compared to 12 ‘sextortion’ cases in reported between February 2020 and 2025.

Suspects communicated with with victims via online gaming platforms, with suspects aged in their 20s offending against child victims, including sending and requesting explicit material.

Recently, officers from Staffordshire Police supported a child who was contacted by a man on Snapchat who then sent illicit photographs and urged the victim to do the same.

The NCA says that financially motivated sexual extortion is usually carried out by organised crime groups (OCGs), often based overseas, who are typically motivated by money.

These groups target all ages and genders however, a large proportion of cases have involved male victims aged 14-18.

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Detective Chief Inspector Shelley Burns from Staffordshire Police’s child public protection unit, said: “A child or young person is never to blame if they have been a victim of this exploitation.

“Offenders will have tricked, groomed or manipulated them into sharing images of themselves.

“Although thankfully reported cases in Staffordshire are relatively low, the mental health impact on the young people involved can be significant, as they can feel ashamed to come forward and admit they're being blackmailed in this way, something which perpetrators prey on.

“That’s why it’s really important to have frequent, open and non-judgemental conversations with your child about relationships, sex and being online to build trust and support them if something goes wrong. Financially motivated sexual extortion should be included in those conversations.

“If it has already happened and your child has shared an image and sent money to someone exploiting them, it’s vital that you report it to us as soon as possible so we can investigate and protect them.

“Do not delete anything and do not block the offender until you have reported the incident to us and we have taken the devices.

“You can also use the Report Remove tool from Childline or the Take it Down tool from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to prevent images being shared and report it to the NCA’s child exploitation and online protection command here.

“It is vital that any child affected by this type of crime is reassured that they have done the right thing in telling you. They are not to blame for what has happened and they have done the right thing in asking for help.

“We will then do all we can to protect your loved one, identify the perpetrator and bring them before the courts.”