Gardaí and Interpol have issued a warning over the rise of cases of sexual extortion targeting young men in Ireland.

As explained on An Garda Síochána’s website, sexual extortion, also known as sextortion, is a form of cybercrime where the perpetrator threatens to share their targets’ intimate information or images without consent, often for financial gain. People of any age, gender, sexual orientation, background, qualification, profession or personal circumstances have been targeted in such crime.

Ahead of tonight’s episode of RTÉ’s Prime Time, Detective Superintendent Sinéad Greene said that the Garda National Protective Services Bureau (GNPSB) has seen an increase in men between the ages of 18 and 24, as well as minors being targeted.

“They’re engaging with individuals online on social media messaging apps, dating apps, and sharing intimate images and videos,” she said

“What that ultimately leads to is the person on the other end, the individual themselves or a crime group, making demands for money or making demands for further images.”

According to Greene, perpetrators, who are often working within a larger organised crime network, are using online messaging services and data apps to carry out sexual extortion.

Neal Jetton, Interpol’s Director of Cybercrime, said that perpetrators are conducting “mass campaigns” in order to target as many people as possible.

Gardaí urge victims of sexual extortion not to pay and to save evidence, such as screenshots, and to report it both to the Gardaí and to the platform itself. You can also report image-based sexual abuse to Hotline.ie.

Earlier this year, GCN spoke to an Irish man who was the victim of an extortion attempt on Grindr. The man, who wishes to remain anonymous and will be referred to as MC, explained that he was chatting through the app with the blackmailer for hours before the threats began. The perpetrator had accessed MC’s private album on Grindr and threatened to share intimate images with his friends and family unless he made a payment.

MC took screenshots from Grindr and reported the blackmailer to the Gardaí, who told him that they had seen a spike in cases of sexual extortion. The next day, the blackmailer posted MC’s images onto his brother’s Facebook page. While there was little the Gardaí could do regarding the crime on Grindr, they were able to request that Meta take action over the abuse on Facebook. As of January, 2026, MC had received no update on the case.

If you have been affected by this story or are looking to reach out to someone for support, advice or just to talk, there are numerous services available for LGBTQ+ people, listed below, and many offer instant messaging support.

Samaritans
National LGBT+ Helpline
The Switchboard
Dublin Lesbian Line
Belong To
TENI
Aware
Pieta House
Jigsaw
Mental Health Ireland
Garda Confidential Line