Hard-hitting sextortion campaign expands to raise awareness among students

A hard-hitting campaign to combat sextortion in Nottinghamshire is being expanded to increase awareness among university students.    

Sextortion is a type of online blackmail, where criminals threaten to share nude or semi-nude photographs of their victim (often to the victim’s personal contacts on social media) or information about them if money isn’t paid or if the victim fails to comply with some other harmful demand.   

In some cases, criminals pose as ‘young and attractive’ women online and then befriend men usually in their teens or early 20s on their social media platforms.    

They will encourage them to send naked pictures or videos of themselves and then use that material against them, threatening to send it to family and friends unless they are paid.    

Last year, Nottinghamshire Police launched an eye-catching campaign, which was recognised nationally, to raise awareness of this devastating crime type and prevent people from becoming victims.  

Our campaign was launched following a steep rise in the number of sextortion reports across our city and county.   

During 2024, the force investigated 403 blackmail cases, 265 of which were sextortion offences.   

Of these sextortion offences, 30 percent are believed to be student victims – equating to 80 people. 

The force is now working closely with University of Nottingham colleagues as part of our awareness-raising campaign.  

Our prevention work will include planned deployments of a digivan at the university which will be used to promote our campaign messaging to students on large screens tomorrow (Wednesday 7 May) and Friday (9 May).

The digivan will also be deployed to various other pop-up locations in Nottingham over both days including Old Market Square, outside the Theatre Royal, and in the Lenton Triangle area.  

Nottinghamshire Police is also working with the Revenge Porn Helpline to create an educational package to be shared with the university and which may also be incorporated as part of its digivan deployment. 

It’s all part of an ongoing initiative to reduce sextortion offences by educating the public and putting more support in place for victims of this distressing crime type.  

The Revenge Porn Helpline supports all adult victims of intimate image abuse in the UK.   

It provides advice, guidance, and support with helping to remove intimate content which has been non-consensually shared online.   

The helpline is open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). The phone number for the helpline is 0345 6000 459. 

Detective Inspector Chris Berryman, whose team investigates sextortion cases, said: “Sextortion can destroy lives and have a devastating impact on victims, causing distress and fear for victims as well as making them feel deep shame and embarrassment. 

“While we will continue to investigate reports and work hard to bring offenders to justice, we want to do everything we can to find ways of preventing and reducing these types of crimes and providing even better support to victims.   

“Through our proactive partnership work with the universities and the Revenge Porn Helpline, we want to remind potentially vulnerable young people of the ways they can prevent themselves falling victim to sextortion as well as highlighting how they can access help and support.  

“Our use of the digivan will enable us to share crime prevention information with students about sextortion even more widely to ensure young people are aware of the risks and the steps they can take to protect themselves.”  

Brydie Adams, Head of Community Engagement at the University of Nottingham, said: "Sextortion is a crime that poses a significant risk to our student community, which we are taking very seriously as a university.   

"This campaign is another key example of the great partnership work between the University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Police and will shine a light on this issue, addressing the feelings of isolation and reluctance to seek help that often accompany it.  

"By equipping students with the knowledge and resources they need, we as a partnership are empowering them to safeguard themselves and understand the support available." 

Senior Revenge Porn Helpline Practitioner Kate Worthington said: “Tackling intimate image abuse such as sextortion goes far beyond providing responsive support to those who have been victimised.   

"Creating awareness of the issue, training and educating students about this form of intimate image abuse is an essential step towards protection.  

"We are delighted to work with Nottinghamshire Police, providing training packages for students, and are ready to extend our support towards those who are also looking to raise awareness about this concerning issue."   

To find out more about our sextortion campaign, and to watch our video, visit Sextortion | Nottinghamshire Police 

For more details about the Revenge Porn Helpline, including other ways to get in touch, visit Revenge Porn Helpline - 0345 6000 459 | Revenge Porn Helpline