(216) 373-7706 Sextortion and Online Blackmail Lawyers
Need Help with Online Extortion & Sextortion?
If someone is threatening to share intimate images, videos, private messages, or other personal information unless you pay, Minc Law’s sextortion and online blackmail lawyers can help. We represent clients in the United States and around the world, and we regularly handle threats from extortionists overseas, including in the Philippines, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Morocco.
Sextortion is a form of extortion in which someone threatens to share sexual images, videos, or messages unless the victim pays money or sends more content. Online blackmail is broader: the threat can involve any private information, such as an affair, private conversations, or a false accusation the person threatens to spread.
These threats often start on Instagram, Snapchat, Grindr, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, or dating and hookup sites such as Ashley Madison and AdultFriendFinder. Not every case involves photos. The leverage may be a recorded video call, an affair, a false accusation, private conversations, a business dispute, or images created with artificial intelligence. Whatever form it takes, we generally recommend the same first steps: don’t pay, stop engaging, and get informed advice before you act.
How We Approach Online Blackmail & Sextortion Cases
When we are retained, we take over communications with the person making the threats so you no longer have to engage. We deliver a formal notice of representation, help you preserve evidence and secure your accounts, and work to prevent the release of your information. If anything is posted, we work to have it removed.
In our experience, more often than not the material is not released, because releasing it costs the blackmailer their leverage. No one can predict what a particular person will do, so our work focuses on limiting their access to you, preparing for every possibility, and responding quickly if something appears online.
Our work often goes beyond the first letter. We investigate the accounts and payment trails behind a threat, help clients prepare if the person contacts family, an employer, or a school, and work with banks and payment apps where money was sent. We also represent parents of minors, and we help people who paid “sextortion help” companies before finding us.
Many of the people who contact us are worried less about the images themselves than about who might see them: a spouse, parents, a church community, or an employer. That is often the most important part of our work. We help you think through who could be contacted, what they might receive, and how to respond if it happens, so you are not caught off guard.
What Happens When You Contact Us
Free intake call.
A member of our intake team learns what is happening, answers questions about how we work, and, if we may be able to help, schedules a consultation.
Attorney consultation.
You speak with an attorney for up to an hour by phone or video, often the same day. The consultation costs $500, which is applied to your fee if you hire us within two business days.
We step in.
Once you hire us, your attorney takes over communications, delivers formal notice, and works with you on evidence, account security, and anyone in your life who may need to be prepared.
Follow-through.
We stay in contact with you and respond quickly if the person resurfaces or anything is posted.
How Our Sextortion and Blackmail Lawyers Help
Minc Law has represented hundreds of people facing sextortion and online blackmail. Every matter is different, and depending on your situation, our work may include:
Emergency Response
We treat these matters as urgent and can often schedule an attorney consultation the same day. Once retained, we take over communications with the person threatening you so you can step away, and we work to prevent the release of your information.
Cease and Desist Letters
We deliver formal notice through whatever channel the extortionist uses, from WhatsApp and Telegram to email and text. In our experience, a letter from an attorney is often an effective deterrent, and when strategy calls for it, we hold it in reserve.
Online Investigations
We look into the accounts, phone numbers, and payment trails behind a threat, including cryptocurrency, and work with outside investigators when it helps. In some cases, this leads to identifying the person responsible.
Content Removal and Monitoring
If anything is posted, we work to remove it from websites, social media, adult sites, and search results through platform reporting, copyright takedown notices, and requests under the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act. Clients can also add our Digital Risk Protection service for 24/7 monitoring of major online sources, social media, and the dark web.
Legal Action and Law Enforcement
When the person can be identified, options can include confidential settlement agreements and lawsuits. We also help clients report to the FBI, local police, and, in some cases, authorities in other countries.
Client Experiences
Testimonials are volunteered without financial compensation and are solicited by the firm through private or public feedback methods. They reflect the experiences of current and former Minc Law clients. Every matter is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Experienced ● Discreet ● Responsive
Sextortion Client
Sextortion Client
We have litigated over 350 cases in 26 states and 5 countries.
We have removed 200,000+ pieces of defamatory and damaging online content.
Awards and settlement dollars obtained for clients.
Is Private Content Being Used Against You?
We handle these matters discreetly and can begin work quickly, wherever you are located. Your intake call is free and confidential.
What Our Clients Say
Real stories from the people we’ve helped.
Sextortion & Online Blackmail FAQs
Not always. Some threats, like mass emails claiming to have hacked your webcam, are scams with nothing real behind them. A lawyer can help when the person has real content or information, knows who your family, employer, or followers are, keeps demanding money after you have paid, or has already posted something. Our free intake call can help you figure out which situation you are in.
Your first call with our intake team is free and usually takes about 15 minutes. The members of our intake team are not attorneys, but they can explain how we work and set up a consultation. If you would like legal advice, the next step is a one-hour consultation with an attorney, which costs $500. If you hire us within two business days of that consultation, the $500 is applied to your fee. Most sextortion matters are handled under a minimum fee agreement starting at $3,500, and more complex matters can cost more. You can read more on our How We Charge for Sextortion Matters page.
Many blackmailers screenshot your followers or contacts to make the threat feel real. If you hire us, we take over communications with the person threatening you and help you prepare in case they reach out to the people in your life, including what to say if someone does receive a message.
We treat these matters as urgent. Our intake team can usually speak with you right away during business hours, and we can often schedule an attorney consultation the same day.
We generally recommend that you don’t pay and stop responding. Before you block the account, save the conversation, the account name or profile link, and any payment demands. Then tighten the privacy settings on your social media accounts and get advice before taking further steps.
Paying doesn’t guarantee the threats will stop, and in our experience it often leads to more demands. If you have already paid, we generally recommend that you stop sending money and keep your receipts and payment records. We can advise you on next steps, including contacting your bank or payment app.
Yes. Threatening to share someone’s private images or information to get money is extortion under the laws of every U.S. state. When the threat is sent online or across state lines, it can also be a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 875(d). The challenge is usually not whether it’s illegal, but identifying the person behind the account.
Yes. Threatening to share someone’s private images or information to get money is extortion under the laws of every U.S. state. When the threat is sent online or across state lines, it can also be a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 875(d). The challenge is usually not whether it’s illegal, but identifying the person behind the account.
No one can predict what a particular person will do. In our experience, more often than not the material is not released, because releasing it costs the blackmailer their leverage. Our work focuses on limiting their access to you and responding quickly if anything appears online.
Yes. We have helped people who paid up-front fees or signed monthly contracts with companies that promised to make the threats stop. We can review what you signed and advise you on your options.
Most major platforms prohibit sharing intimate content without consent. We work to remove posted content through platform reporting, copyright takedown notices, and intimate image removal processes, and to remove it from search results.
Yes. What you tell our intake team and attorneys is kept confidential, and you can ask any questions before deciding whether to move forward.
Yes. We represent clients in the United States and around the world, and consultations take place by phone or video.
Many extortionists hide behind fake accounts and operate overseas, which makes them hard to identify. In some cases, our investigation leads to identifying the person responsible. When someone can be identified, options can include a lawsuit or a confidential settlement, and we can help you share evidence with law enforcement.
Remind your child that they are the victim. We generally recommend helping them save the messages, stop responding, and report the account to the platform. You can also report to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline and use its Take It Down service, which helps remove images of minors from participating platforms and keep them from being shared again. We also represent parents of minors facing sextortion.
Speak With an Online Blackmail Attorney Today
Whether you are in the United States or abroad, Minc Law’s sextortion and online blackmail attorneys can take over communications, work to protect your privacy, and remove content if it is posted. Your intake call is free and confidential.
