Overlooked cybercrime of ‘sextortion’ poses growing threat to women and children, study finds

'We have to start advocating for more accountability on behalf of platforms to take these images down, or to report harassment,' says researcher

Researchers at Michigan State University, who defined sextortion as a form of 'threat-based harassment online', said women and children make up the majority of victims of the crime (PA)

A lesser-known cybercrime known as "sextortion" poses a growing threat to both adults and children, researchers have warned.

Criminal justice researchers at Michigan State University said women and children make up the majority of the victims of the offence, which involves threatening to use "intimate images or videos ... to then extort compliance from a victim".

Their study, which was published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, said in many sextortion cases the perpetrators did not even have the photos or footage they were using to control and exploit their victims.