Sextortion: A Growing Global Issue. How Complexity Science can help.

News

Sextortion: A Growing Global Issue. How Can We Fight Back?

Complexity Science can help identify perpetrators. CSH researcher Bernhard Haslhofer collaborates with Bavarian law enforcement to address the problem. In a press conference today, they presented first results.

It often starts with an innocent flirtation on social media or dating platforms and ends in blackmail. Sextortion, or sexual extortion, is an online crime where victims—predominantly young men—are coerced into paying money under the threat of having intimate photos or videos exposed. A 2023 study by Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security identified sextortion as one of the top three cyber threats. In Austria, the helpline ”Rat auf Draht” reported a 30% increase in calls on this issue from 2022 to 2023. The FBI describes sextortion as an “escalating threat” and has seen a “huge increase in the number of cases involving children and teens”.

WHO ARE THE PERPETRATORS? HOW DO THEY OPERATE?

At today’s press conference, Bavarian State Minister of Justice Georg Eisenreich, Deputy Director of the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime Bavaria (ZCB) and Chief Prosecutor Thomas Goger, and Bernhard Haslhofer, leader of the “Digital Currency Ecosystems” research group at CSH, provided insights and presented preliminary findings.

Victims often start what they believe is harmless online flirting. They may receive video calls from supposed women through instant messaging platforms, where they are encouraged to expose themselves or engage in sexual acts. These interactions are secretly recorded. Suddenly, the perpetrators demand payment, threatening to make the compromising material go viral or share it with family and friends.

“These criminals exert immense pressure, often counting down a timer to further increase the stress factor,” Eisenreich explains. “Victims are subjected to significant psychological strain.”

Very often, organized criminal groups are behind these schemes. And these groups operate across national borders. According to the ZCB, many originate in West African countries like Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire or Southeast Asia. Since some extortion payments are made in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to obscure transactions, the CSH collaborates with Bavarian law enforcement to track the flow of money.

Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime (ZCB)

The ZCB, based at the Public Prosecutor General’s Office in Bamberg, is one of Germany’s largest and most experienced specialized prosecution units for combating online crimes, including child exploitation, cyber fraud, phishing, and corporate cyberattacks. Established in 2015, the ZCB handled 17,888 cases in 2024 involving known and unknown perpetrators.

TRACING THE MONEY: A FORENSIC APPROACH

Using the analytics tool GraphSense, developed by CSH expert Bernhard Haslhofer and his team, researchers conduct extensive analyses of cryptocurrency payment flows associated with sextortion spam. 

“We’ve observed a sharp increase in cases where perpetrators falsely claim to possess intimate images or videos,” Haslhofer said. “By analyzing Bitcoin transactions, we’ve uncovered patterns—such as millions of emails and thousands of cases being linked to just a few groups of perpetrators.”

Together with his team, he examined almost 4.5 million such sextortion spam emails and was able to trace them back to just 96 different campaigns and 12,533 Bitcoin addresses. From January 2021 to July 2023, 1,793 cases of sextortion were recorded in Bavaria. “Nearly 97% of these cases were related and could be grouped into 81 clusters,” he explains.

GraphSense

GraphSense is an open-source cryptoasset analytics platform that emphasizes data sovereignty, algorithmic transparency, and scalability. It offers an interactive dashboard for investigations and facilitates automated analytics workflows, ensuring complete control over data.

With the use of artificial intelligence, sextortion has reached a new level of escalation. The perpetrators claim, for example, that they have used AI to create nude photos of people and say that even if they are not real, the victim’s followers, family, etc. will believe them to be genuine.

Following the money trail can lead to the criminals, and transaction analyses provide invaluable insights. “However, the sheer volume of cases and data overwhelms traditional forensic methods, making innovative digital approaches essential to supporting law enforcement,” Haslhofer concludes.

How to Protect Yourself

Sextortion is a serious crime, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself and minimize harm. Here’s how:

  1. Stop Communicating with the Perpetrator

Immediately cease any contact with the criminal. Do not respond to further messages or threats.

  1. Do Not Pay Under Any Circumstances

Paying the perpetrator does not guarantee that the material won’t be shared. It may also encourage further demands.

  1. Set Up a Google Alert

Create a Google Alert using your name to monitor if any photos or videos linked to you are uploaded online.

  1. Check Your Accounts

Ensure none of your accounts have been compromised. Change passwords for all accounts, prioritizing those connected to sensitive information.

  1. Preserve All Evidence

Save all communications, including messages, emails, screenshots of chats, transaction details, and any images or videos sent by the perpetrator. This evidence can be crucial for investigations.

  1. Report to Law Enforcement

File a report with your local police. Reports are vital for helping law enforcement track and stop these crimes.

  1. Follow Online Security Guidelines

Refer to resources like the website of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre and the FBI’s Sextortion Information Page for detailed advice on protecting yourself from sextortion and other cyber threats.

Researchers

Related

“Ich habe dein Notebook gehackt und dich heimlich gefilmt.” So…
Kurier
Wiener Forscher entwickeln ein Tool für Strafverfolgungsbehörden…
Die Betrugsmasche Sextortion verbreitet sich gerade rasant. Die…
Sextortion wird immer mehr zum Problem. Experten liefern spannende…
0 Pages 0 Press 0 News 0 Events 0 Projects 0 Publications 0 Person 0 Visualisation 0 Art

Signup

CSH Newsletter

Choose your preference
   
Data Protection*