POSH
First 24 Hours After an Online Incident
The first response matters.
Stay calm, protect the child, preserve evidence, reduce contact, and get the right help.
Use this page when something has already happened:
Private messages, grooming concerns, sextortion, threats, screenshots, bullying, strange contact, gifts, secrecy, or unsafe online pressure.
Calm action protects better than panic
STOP. SAVE. SUPPORT. REPORT.
The goal in the first 24 hours is not to solve everything instantly. The goal is to stop escalation, support the child, protect evidence, and move into the correct help pathway.
Your child needs safety before interrogation.
If they feel punished for telling you, they may stop talking when you need information most.
First rule
Do not blame the child.
Do not panic-message the other person.
Do not delete evidence.
Do not negotiate with threats alone.
Do not post publicly while emotions are high.
Calm first. Action second.
Step 1: Make the child safe
- Move them away from the device if they are panicking.
- Reassure them they are not in trouble for telling you.
- Check if they feel threatened, blackmailed, scared, or unsafe.
- Ask whether the person knows their school, address, location, friends, or family.
- If there is immediate danger, contact emergency services.
Start with: “You are not in trouble. We are going to deal with this together.”
Step 2: Stop contact calmly
- Stop replying to the unsafe person.
- Do not argue, threaten, bait, or confront them.
- Do not send more images, information, money, or messages.
- Do not accept new requests from related accounts.
- Do not move the conversation to another app.
If threats are involved, do not negotiate alone. Move to evidence and reporting.
Step 3: Preserve evidence
- Take screenshots of usernames, profiles, messages, threats, links, images, and dates.
- Record the platform used and any other apps involved.
- Save URLs, handles, display names, user IDs, group names, server names, or phone numbers.
- Do not delete conversations until evidence is saved.
- Write down what happened while it is fresh.
Evidence helps adults, platforms, police, and reporting services understand what happened.
Step 4: Secure the device and accounts
- Change passwords if accounts may be compromised.
- Check connected accounts, recovery emails, and logged-in devices.
- Turn on stronger privacy settings.
- Limit who can message, follow, add, gift, or invite your child.
- Check whether the child moved from one app to another.
Secure access without making the child feel punished for telling the truth.
If threats or sextortion are involved
Do not send more.
Do not pay.
Do not negotiate alone.
Do not stay silent.
Save evidence and report quickly.
Threats mean get help — not more silence.
Step 5: Ask calm questions
Do not interrogate. Start with safety and simple facts.
“When did this start?”
“What app or game did it start on?”
“Did they ask you to move to another app?”
“Did they ask you to keep secrets?”
“Did they ask for photos, money, gifts, or personal information?”
“Did they threaten you or make you feel trapped?”
The aim is understanding, not catching the child out.
Step 6: Identify the pathway
Many incidents move across platforms. Find the path.
Where it started
↓
Who made contact
↓
Where it moved
↓
What they asked for
↓
What pressure appeared
The pathway tells you whether this is bullying, grooming, sextortion, scam contact, peer pressure, or platform risk.
Step 7: Report through the right channels
- Report the account or content inside the platform.
- Use official child safety reporting pathways where needed.
- Contact police if there are threats, exploitation, blackmail, sexual requests, or immediate risk.
- Contact the school if peers, classmates, bullying, screenshots, or group chats are involved.
- Keep records of reports made.
Do not rely only on blocking if there is serious risk, threats, exploitation, or evidence of grooming.
What not to do in the first 24 hours
- Do not yell at the child for telling you.
- Do not immediately delete everything.
- Do not confront the person aggressively from your own account.
- Do not post screenshots publicly while the child is exposed.
- Do not assume “it was only online.”
- Do not minimise threats, shame, blackmail, or secrecy.
- Do not let the child handle it alone.
The wrong first reaction can make the child hide the next part.
What to say to your child
“You are not in trouble for telling me.”
“We are going to slow this down.”
“You do not have to reply anymore.”
“We need to save what happened before anything is deleted.”
“The person pressuring or threatening you is the one doing wrong.”
“We will work out the next step together.”
Platform-specific scenario support
The first 24 hours pattern
Calm the child
↓
Stop contact
↓
Save evidence
↓
Secure accounts
↓
Report and support
This is the calm action pattern. Repeat it whenever something feels serious.
Final POSH reminder
Your first job is safety.
Your second job is evidence.
Your third job is the correct help pathway.
The child needs to know they can come to you before things get worse.