Sextortion and scams on video chat: how to spot them and what to do

By the OMG Chat team · Updated 13 November 2026 · 8 min read

Scammers like video chat for the same reason everyone else does: it's quick, anonymous and personal. Knowing their scripts makes them easy to spot. If something has already happened, skip to the step-by-step help below.

If you're being threatened right now: stop replying, don't pay, take screenshots of the messages and the account, then block and report. Read what to do next. You are not in trouble, and you are not alone: this is a common, organised crime.

How sextortion works

"Sextortion" is blackmail with intimate images. On video chat it almost always follows the same pattern, which is good news: once you know it, you'll recognise it within a minute.

1. The bait. You're matched with someone attractive and very friendly. Often the video is pre-recorded: it may loop, the person rarely speaks, or what they do doesn't quite match what you say.
2. The move. They suggest switching to another app (Snapchat, Skype, Telegram, WhatsApp or Instagram), "because it's more private". The real reason is to get away from the report button and to learn your account name, which often leads to your friends and family.
3. The escalation. The conversation turns sexual quickly, and they encourage you to undress or do something on camera.
4. The threat. Minutes later the tone changes completely. They send a screenshot or clip, plus a list of your followers or contacts, and demand money (often in gift cards, crypto or a payment app) or they'll send it to everyone.

These are usually organised groups working from scripts, targeting many people at once. They count on panic. They want you to pay before you have time to think.

Other scams you'll see on random chat

"Verify you're an adult" links

Someone sends a link to a site that supposedly checks your age before they'll talk, show more, or move to another app. The site asks for card details "for verification, you won't be charged", then signs you up for expensive subscriptions or steals the card. A stranger has no reason to verify you.

Romance and "investment" scams

These are slower. A charming person chats with you over days or weeks, becomes a close friend or partner, and eventually mentions a crypto or trading platform where they've made money, or an emergency (a medical bill, a blocked bank account, a plane ticket to come and see you). Any online relationship that leads to money, however gradually, is a warning sign.

Gift-card and "small favour" requests

"Can you buy me a Steam card? I'll pay you back." Gift cards are popular with scammers because they're almost impossible to trace or refund.

Fake staff or fake prizes

Messages claiming to be from moderators, "OMG Chat support" or a prize team, asking you to confirm your password, a code or a payment. We'll never ask for your password or a code in a chat, and we never ask for payment outside the official in-app purchase screens or the Stripe checkout on omgvchat.com.

Bots and spam

Accounts that say nothing and paste the same link or message to everyone. Skip, and report as spam so we can remove them.

Warning signs at a glance

What to do if it happens to you

1. Stop all contact. Don't argue, plead or explain. Every reply tells them they've got your attention.
2. Don't pay. Paying very rarely makes the threat go away. Far more often, the demands simply continue because they now know you'll pay. Many people who don't pay never hear from the scammer again, because they move on to easier targets.
3. Save the evidence first. Take screenshots of the conversation, the profile or username, any payment details or wallet addresses they sent, and the threat itself. Note the date and time.
4. Then block and report them everywhere. In OMG Chat use the shield button or your recent matches, and choose "Spam or scam" or "Nudity / sexual content". Report the account on any other app they contacted you on, too.
5. Lock down your accounts. Temporarily set your social profiles to private and hide your friends or followers list. That takes away their main lever.
6. Get the images blocked. If you're an adult and worried an intimate image will be shared, StopNCII.org creates a digital fingerprint of the image on your own device (the image itself isn't uploaded) so participating platforms can block it. If the person in the image was under 18, NCMEC's Take It Down service does the same.
7. Report it to the police. Sextortion is a crime everywhere. In the US you can also report to the FBI at ic3.gov; in the UK, to Action Fraud; elsewhere, to your national police or cybercrime unit. Bring your screenshots.
8. Tell someone you trust. Shame is exactly what scammers rely on. A friend or family member can help you think clearly, and talking about it takes away most of the power of the threat.

If the scam started on OMG Chat, please also email us at memegrinders@gmail.com with the date, time and what happened. It helps us find and ban the same accounts before they reach someone else.

Prevention, in one paragraph

Don't do anything on camera that you wouldn't want a stranger to keep, stay inside the app where the report button is, never send money to someone you met online, and never open links from a stranger. Those four habits stop almost every scam on this page. For more general advice, see how to stay safe video chatting with strangers.