PARENT, ATHLETE & COACH ALERT: Student-Athletes Are Being Targeted in Sextortion Schemes
The FBI is warning about sexual exploitation schemes targeting student-athletes, and parents, caregivers, athletes, coaches, and school athletic departments need to be aware of this evolving threat.
As awareness and education surrounding sextortion continue to reach more youth and teens, those who engage in these crimes are also adapting their tactics. Rather than relying exclusively on random approaches through social media and messaging platforms, some offenders are becoming more deliberate and strategic in identifying potential victims, particularly those whose public profiles, reputations, and social connections may make them more vulnerable to threats of exposure.
Recently, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a public warning highlighting sexual exploitation schemes targeting student-athletes (1). According to the FBI, student-athletes can become attractive targets because of their public visibility, particularly when they have an established online presence through school athletics, competitive sports, recruitment activities, or Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities. Their names, photographs, team affiliations, athletic accomplishments, and social media profiles are often publicly accessible, providing offenders with information that can be used to personalize their approach and make fraudulent communications appear more credible.
What makes this particularly concerning is that offenders may attempt to weaponize an athlete’s reputation, athletic opportunities, relationships, and standing within their school or sporting community. The fear of having intimate images, fabricated content, or private information shared with teammates, coaches, recruiters, family members, or the broader community can become a powerful form of psychological leverage.
The FBI has identified several warning signs associated with these schemes, including unsolicited text messages claiming that an account will be disabled unless a verification code is provided, as well as unexpected emails referencing a new account login and directing the recipient to click a link to reset their password. These tactics may be used to gain unauthorized access to accounts, steal personal information, or obtain material that can subsequently be used for exploitation or extortion.
Parents, athletes, and coaches should understand that legitimate services should not require users to disclose verification codes, temporary passwords, or PIN reset codes to someone contacting them unexpectedly. Athletes should also use strong, unique passwords that do not contain easily discovered personal information, such as their names, birthdays, jersey numbers, or other publicly available details. Enabling multifactor authentication, preferably through an authenticator app or passkey where supported, can provide an additional layer of protection.
Here at The White Hatter, we also want to emphasize that sextortion is not always the result of a young person voluntarily sharing an intimate image. Offenders may obtain images through compromised accounts, impersonation, manipulation, or other deceptive tactics. In some cases, AI-generated or digitally altered intimate images can also be used as leverage, even when the targeted athlete has never created or shared an authentic intimate image.
For coaches, athletic directors, and sporting organizations, this warning reinforces the importance of making digital safety education part of athlete development. Just as we teach young athletes about physical safety, injury prevention, and sportsmanship, we should also be preparing them to recognize online manipulation, account compromise, sexual exploitation, and extortion.
Most importantly, young athletes need to know that if they are targeted, they are not the ones committing a crime, and asking for help should never be viewed as a threat to their position on a team, their athletic reputation, or their future opportunities. Fear, embarrassment, and concern about disappointing others are precisely the emotions offenders attempt to exploit.
If you are a teen, parent, caregiver, coach, or educator dealing with sextortion, we have developed a comprehensive collection of free resources specifically addressing this crime, including our “Sextortion Response: 10-Step Emergency Protocol.” These resources provide practical guidance on what to do if someone is targeted, how to preserve evidence, where to report the crime, and how to support a young person through what can be an extremely frightening experience.
Our message to student-athletes is simple: Your athletic reputation, scholarship opportunities, or standing within your team should never be more important than your personal safety and well-being. If someone threatens you online, do not suffer in silence. Reach out to a trusted adult immediately. Help is available.
At The White Hatter, we believe that education, preparation, and trusted relationships remain some of our strongest tools in preventing and responding to online exploitation.
Please share this alert with your youth and teens athletes. Knowledge and the understanding and application of that knowledge is power!
Digital Food For Thought
The White Hatter
Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten , Know Tech Not No Tech
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