A growing threat in online grooming and “sextortion” prompted the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to take action. After tech companies reported more than 9,600 cases of adults grooming children online in just six months—the equivalent of about 400 a week—the NCA launched what it called “unprecedented” public awareness campaigns. The campaigns alert U.K. teachers, parents, and children to the dangers of sextortion, in which victims are blackmailed into sharing abusive, explicit images. The British newspaper The Guardian outlined how widespread the threat is. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) noted a 192% increase from 2023 in reports from tech firms of adults across the world soliciting children. Law enforcement agencies are increasingly concerned that predators are finding more sophisticated ways to target children online. A lengthy manual giving detailed instructions on how best to exploit young Internet users was uncovered on online networks encouraging young men to commit crimes. That sextortion guide was allegedly produced by an Arizona man, whom the FBI arrested in late 2024.
