The Waterloo Regional Police Service is warning residents about an increase in sextortion-related crimes and encouraging the community to take preventative safety measures.

Since 2020, there have been over 700 incidents of sextortion reported to the Waterloo Regional Police. Sextortion is a form of online blackmail where someone threatens to send a sexual image or video of a person to others if the person doesn’t pay them or provide more sexual content. In 2024 alone, officers investigated 198 cases of sextortion—42 of those incidents involved victims under the age of 18.

Victims are typically tricked into believing they are chatting with a potential romantic partner, who then convinces them to send a sexual photo or video. The sextorter might also take images from the victim's social media profile, and alter it into a sexual image using artificial intelligence (AI). The sextorter then demands that the victim send money or additional sexual photos or videos, and threatens to leak the content if the victim doesn't comply. They may try to pressure the victim by sending screenshots of their friend list to prove the sexual content could be shared with people the victim knows.

“Sextortion crimes have devastating impacts on victims,” said Staff Sergeant Michael Krisko of WRPS’ Cybercrime Unit. “Education is a vital tool in preventing these incidents. It empowers individuals to recognize the warning signs and seek help.”

WRPS encourages community members to consider the following safety measures to help prevent sextortion:

• Use strong passwords for online accounts.
• Avoid putting personal information in your social media bios.
• Only accept friend requests or follows from people you know.
• If you are targeted, immediately stop the conversation.
  • Screenshot the messages.
  • Delete/block the sextorter.
  • Never send money or additional content – this will only make the harassment worse.

For parents/guardians of youth:

• Understand the platforms your child is using to communicate, and how they work.
• Help your child set up their privacy settings on social media apps.
• Know the friends your child is talking to online. Ask if they have met before in person, or only online.
• Have an open line of communication with them, so that they feel comfortable asking for help.

If you have been a victim of sextortion, please report the incident to police at 519-570-9777.

For more information about sextortion and other online harms targeting children, visit the Canadian Centre for Child Protection or cybertip.ca.