Netsafe offers free counselling as sextortion at highest level ever

Checkpoint · Oct 7, 2026 · 5m

Online safety organisation Netsafe says sextortion is at its highest ever level in Aotearoa, and the number of people falling victim to online harm is rising rapidly. Sextortion is a form of blackmail in which someone is tricked or pressured into sharing intimate images, then threatened with having them posted online unless they pay a ransom or send more. Netsafe says cases have gone up nearly 25% in the last year, but many aren't reported. Now they've partnered with a counselling service to offer free support to victims. A warning, the following report from Evie Richardson mentions suicide.