TBI Warns of Growing Financial Sextortion Threat Targeting Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) recently released new data highlighting the continued and growing threat of financial sextortion targeting children and teens.
In 2025 alone, NCMEC received more than 50,000 reports of financially motivated sextortion. That’s an average of 137 reports every day. This represents a dramatic increase from the more than 36,000 reports received in 2024, underscoring the rapidly growing scale of this crime.
“While the newly released numbers are deeply concerning, unfortunately, we are not at all surprised. Those are national statistics. Currently, our four agents assigned to investigate these types of crimes are collectively trying to identify and locate more than 150 child victims of sextortion. Those are just the cases in the state of Tennessee assigned to TBI,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert Burghardt, who oversees the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Squad.
Typically, the predator and the child are the only people who know about the abuse until it is reported to law enforcement.
“This leaves the child carrying an overwhelming emotional burden on their own. Unfortunately, the predators often encourage their victims to commit suicide and some feel like that is their only choice when faced by the threat of having their nude photographs shared with friends and family,” said Burghardt.
Additionally, NCMEC is reporting changes in how offenders are targeting their victims. Many are acting more quickly, moving their conversations to private messaging and encrypted apps, making it more difficult to detect their crimes.
“Education is our strongest defense against financial sextortion. Parents and caregivers need to have conversations with their children about sextortion before a crisis happens,” said Burghardt. “Every child should know two things: if it happens, tell a trusted adult immediately, and never pay or cooperate with a blackmailer. Giving in rarely ends the abuse. It almost always encourages more demands.”
If a child in your life is victimized, call 1-800-TBI-FIND or report it to NCMEC at https://report.cybertip.org/
For more information:
Please visit NCMECs website. https://www.missingkids.org/theissues/sextortion
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