Interpol and An Garda Síochána have issued warnings about a rise in reports of ‘sextortion’ both in Ireland and worldwide, noting that young men are most frequently targeted by organised criminal networks, reports RTE.
Sextortion, also known as sexual extortion, involves online threats where victims are told that intimate images or videos of them will be shared unless they pay money, reports RTE.
Detective Superintendent Sinéad Greene from the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) told RTÉ’s Prime Time that over the past two years, “it’s something that we’re seeing increased reporting of”, reports RTE.
“The cohort of individuals that we’re seeing that’s being targeted most is young male victims, between the ages of 18 and 24, with males under the age of 18 being targeted as well,” she said.
She explained that victims are often interacting with people online via social media messaging services and dating apps, where they end up sharing private images or videos, reports RTE.
“What that ultimately leads to is the person on the other end, the individual themselves or a crime group, making demands for money or making demands for further images.”
Senior officials at Interpol told Prime Time that the crime is still significantly under-reported, reports RTE.
Director of Cybercrime Neal Jetton said the criminals behind these acts are “very organised,” operating across borders in coordinated groups to target large numbers of victims.
These groups frequently conduct “mass campaigns”, distributing large volumes of messages across social media, gaming, and dating platforms to lure potential victims, reports RTE.
Once they establish contact and obtain images or videos, offenders “put immense pressure” on victims, threatening to send the material to friends and family if money is not paid.
“You can look at any sort of statistics and what you’ll see is an increase,” Mr Jetton said, reports RTE.
For one 21-year-old Irish man, this pattern played out rapidly.
Shane, a pseudonym, said he was contacted on TikTok in May last year by someone he believed to be a woman of a similar age, reports RTE.
At the time, he had a large following on TikTok, so receiving a message from someone unfamiliar was not unusual.
“They said they’re originally from Glasgow, but the way they spoke, it sounded like they just lived down the road from me. There was nothing really out of the ordinary than what I was seeing on Tinder or any other of the dating sites.”
After chatting for some time, the person suggested moving to a video call on Facebook Messenger, reports RTE.
“The call happened and I could see there was a girl staring at me through a camera, and it looked like the profile.
“It got intense really quick…she typed into the chat that microphone wasn’t working. I’d say, two minutes [into] the call, her clothes were off on the screen, and she was messaging asking to see me… and asked me to take my pants off.”
Shane admitted that he “in a lapse of judgement, obliged” but noticed a recording indicator before the call suddenly ended, reports RTE.
Soon after, he was sent a short clip showing him unclothed, confirming his fears.
“Straight away my heart sunk, I didn’t know whether to shout or cry or scream or throw the phone or do what.
“I instantly knew straight away … this is a scam, they’re going to blackmail [me].”
Shortly afterwards, the person began demanding money from him, reports RTE.
Shane recorded the interaction and shared it with Prime Time, showing repeated demands and threats to send the video to his contacts on Facebook and post it publicly online.
At first, the scammers requested €100 through payment services such as Western Union to an account in Ivory Coast, reports RTE.
The scammer wrote: “As soon as you send the 100 I will send you the link [to the video] here and show you how to delete it.”
Shane said he could not use those services but agreed to transfer the money through Revolut.
“I sent over the money … and then straight away he just kept demanding more and more. It was nonstop,” Shane said, reports RTE.
After receiving the initial payment, the scammers escalated their demands.
“I need 700 euros for my tip,” the scammers wrote to Shane, who said he had no more money to send. “Don’t mess with me … I’ll give you 1 minute for my tip otherwise the video will end up on YouTube.”
They then began creating private Facebook groups including his friends, family, and colleagues, reports RTE.
“They had about four different groups going with seven friends per group.”
Despite Shane’s attempts to negotiate, the scammers followed through and shared the video across these groups and on individuals’ Facebook profiles, reports RTE.
“They were colleagues, they were friends, they were mutual friends, family friends. It was quite literally anyone you can think of that could have seen it.”
After the video was circulated, Shane said he felt overwhelmed and unsure how to cope, reports RTE.
“There was a lot of thoughts, dark thoughts, angry thoughts. I didn’t know what to do, to be honest. I just broke down in my room. I messaged everyone privately saying, this is a scam, don’t open the link. I was contemplating just leaving, packing up, going, blocking everyone and going. I didn’t know how to confront my parents or anyone to tell them this has happened … to be brutally honest with you, I just, I wasn’t in a good spot,” reports RTE.
He later reported the incident to his local Garda station.
“Straight away they were understanding. They straight away told me it was organised crime, they’re criminals, they’re gangs, I’m not the first person and they said I won’t be the last, unfortunately,” reports RTE.
An Garda Síochána said it does not comment on individual cases, reports RTE.
In a statement, it confirmed receiving a report of fraud involving a man in his 20s in the Eastern Region in May 2025, noting that officers worked with the victim and financial institutions during the investigation.
With help from the Irish Internet Hotline, the video was eventually taken down, although it had already been seen by many of Shane’s contacts, reports RTE.
“There’s jokes about calling me a paedo, calling me … other not so nice names, and it has really affected me personally, as well as emotionally and physically. I felt dirty and I do still feel dirty when someone brings it up. I feel like I’m not a victim, but I’m suspect. I’m the person that’s in the wrong over it, opposed to being the one that’s had something happen to me,” reports RTE.
Det Supt Sinéad Greene said it is very difficult to hear that victims feel this way and stressed that sextortion is a serious crime, encouraging people to come forward without shame, reports RTE.
Interpol’s Neal Jetton said Shane’s experience reflects a typical pattern used by these criminals.
“They’re going to put immense pressure on you, you know, put shortened timelines, things like that, say that they’re going to talk to your friends, [that] they know who they are through like social media,” reports RTE.
According to Interpol’s 2025 Cyber Threat Assessment, sextortion has become a major cybercrime issue, particularly in parts of Africa, reports RTE.
“Sextortion is one of the top three crimes that they saw that was rising,” Mr Jetton said, noting that West Africa has become a hub, although the activity is global.
He added that these criminal groups are highly structured in their operations, reports RTE.
“You do have those that are going to be recruiting. You do have those that are operating the profiles. You do have those that are going to have to go out and work with the money mules once the money is sent. And then you’re going to have to have, you know, a tech support kind of team,” reports RTE.
The use of artificial intelligence is also helping these groups expand their reach and efficiency.
“It allows a single operator to run a ton of different profiles, accounts, things like that, where it used to maybe you’d have to manage them with more people,” Mr Jetton said, reports RTE.
“I think that AI is going to allow more automation, so it’s going to make this crime type even more difficult to combat.”
Shane said the experience has made him far more cautious online.
“Socially, on dating apps, I’m very cautious in relation to anything like that. I don’t really engage much in social media anymore,” reports RTE.
He added that he is receiving counselling and has been open with his family, who have supported him through the ordeal, reports RTE.
“I do openly speak about it to my family, and you know, they are supportive of me … They understand it was just a genuine mistake,” reports RTE.
He hopes that by sharing his story, others will be encouraged to seek help and raise awareness about sextortion.
“Do come forward and don’t let it build up and don’t try to deal with it on your own,” reports RTE.
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