The number of people seeking support for "sextortion" has increased significantly year-on-year, according to new figures released by the Crime Victims Helpline.
Sextortion, a form of cyber blackmail around the sharing of intimate images, is one of a number of online crimes which have prompted an increase in reports to the helpline last year.
"It's something we didn’t hear about three years ago, now it’s maybe the third or fourth most common reason people are ringing the Crime Victims Helpline," the services’ Chief Executive said.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Michele Puckhaber said sextortion can happen when two people are connecting online and they may not know each other and one person sends an intimate photo and the other sends one back, but then the first person demands money in exchange for not sharing the photos with a person’s contacts or workplace.
"It’s even been such an increase that it has changed our demographics of who is ringing us as sextortion really impacts young men for the most part. We’ve seen a huge increase in number of young men who are contacting us for information and support," she said.
Ms Puckhaber said that the people who this is happening tend to feel "extreme panic, embarrassment and fear".
She said the helpline tells victims they should not pay and added that paying the person often leads to more demands for payment.
"It is a crime to threaten to or share intimate photos, often times if the person is not paid, often times nothing happens.
"We can never guarantee anything, but it can be a sense of reassurance that typically they don’t share the photos and if they are shared, there are good resources where the images can be taken down if they are put online," Ms Puckhaber.
The report also noted a rise of 81% in calls relating to LGBTQ and racist hate crimes.
Ms Puckhaber said that hate crimes included cases of harassment and assault.
She added it is "not quite clear" whether the hate crimes are increasing or whether people are just reaching out more as there has been a spotlight on hate incidents.
