Your weekly dose of scam-proofing in 3 minutes or less—no fluff, just the latest hacks, scams, phishing attacks, and cyber cons you actually need to know about.

🚨SCAM OF THE WEEK: SEXTORTION SCAMS

Because “send nudes” now comes with blackmail, AI fakery, and sometimes fatal consequences.

What the hell is a Sextortion Scam?

It’s blackmail. With a sexual twist.

Scammers trick, manipulate, or coerce someone into sharing intimate images or videos—then threaten to leak them unless they pay.

Sometimes the victim did share something.

Sometimes the content is completely fake.

Either way, the fear is very real.

How does it work (for teens)?

1. The fake profile: A scammer poses as a teen girl (or boy), usually on Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or a gaming chat. They’re flirty, friendly, and push for “just one pic.”
   

2. The trap: As soon as the victim sends a photo or video, the tone changes. The scammer now has screenshots—and a list of the victim’s friends and family.
   

3. The threat: “Send money, or I’ll share this with your school, your parents, your mates.” They demand payment. Then more. It doesn’t stop.
   

4. The damage: Many teens feel terrified, ashamed, and completely alone. Some pay. Some freeze. Some don’t survive.

How does it work (for adults)?

1. The fake account: Usually someone attractive slides into your DMs. Often posing as a young woman, even though it’s likely a man or organised group behind it.
   

2. The lure: Casual conversation quickly turns sexual. You’re asked to video chat, strip, or send intimate photos.
   

3. The switch: The scammer now records everything—or says they did—and threatens to share it with your boss, your partner, or your LinkedIn network.
   

4. The demand: Pay up in crypto or gift cards. The tone gets aggressive. They might use AI-generated screenshots or video clips as “proof.”

Why does it work?

✅ Shame: The victim doesn’t want anyone to know.
✅ Fear: The threat feels real, immediate, and life-destroying.
✅ Isolation: Victims don’t want to talk about it. Scammers exploit the silence.
✅ AI fakery: Scammers now use deepfake tools to generate fake nudes or videos that look like the victim—without needing real content.

This is emotional manipulation turned into a business model.

Real-world facepalms (and tragedies)

💔 Breck Bednar (UK) – Groomed online and murdered in 2014 after online manipulation. Not sextortion, but shows how grooming can escalate.

💔 2022 – U.S. teen suicides: Dozens of teenage boys took their lives after being sextorted on Instagram and Snapchat. One 17-year-old paid $200. The scammers still leaked the image.

💔 Interpol warning 2023: Surge in AI-generated porn being used for extortion—where victims are shown doctored videos of themselves, despite never sending any photos at all.

💔 2023 – FBI received over 7,000 sextortion reports involving minors. Those are just the ones who reported it.

How to protect teens

• Talk early, talk often. Make sure they know what sextortion is before they’re targeted.
  

• Keep communication open. Tell them no shame, no judgement—just safety.
  

• Help them spot red flags: Fast-moving online relationships, secrecy, sudden switches in tone.
  

• Encourage pause-before-send thinking. That “one photo” can turn into blackmail within minutes.
  

• Remind them: If they’re targeted, it’s not their fault. You’ll help them through it.
  
  

How to protect yourself

• Don’t share explicit content online, especially with strangers—no matter how real they seem.
  

• Assume everything you send can be saved, recorded, or manipulated.
  

• If you’re targeted:

  • Don’t reply

  • Don’t pay

  • Save the messages

  • Report the account

  • Talk to someone you trust
    

• Check if your image has been used: try Google reverse image search or tools like StopNCII.org

Final thought:

This isn’t about being stupid. It’s about being human.
Scammers use connection, trust, and shame as weapons. Your best defence is awareness—and making damn sure the people you love know how this works.

🤙

⚡ SHARP CYBERSECURITY TIP

Use different passwords for every account. Yes, it's annoying. Yes, you need a password manager. Because if one account gets breached, you don’t want to lose your email, bank, and Netflix in one go.

🔥 ONE-LINER HOT TAKE

You can’t “just trust your gut” online when the entire scam is designed to be your gut instinct.

That’s it for this week.

If you’re a parent, this is the conversation you hope you never have—but you need to. Talk to your kids. And if this ever happens to you or them: no shame. No silence. Just action.

Catch you next time,

Dan & the Goldphish Team

📌 P.S. Know a parent who needs to see this? Forward it now. It might save their kid’s life or tell them to subscribe below.👇