Report & Get Help — USA

Which situation sounds most like you right now?

Main USA reporting pathways

Use the pathway that matches the concern. In serious cases, more than one lane may be needed.

• 911 / local police: immediate danger, real-world risk, stalking, meeting plans, known offender, or urgent threats.
• NCMEC CyberTipline: online enticement, grooming, child sexual exploitation, CSAM, trafficking concerns, unsolicited sexual content sent to a child, or sexual coercion.
• FBI / tips.fbi.gov: sextortion, child exploitation concerns, threats, coercion, or federal law enforcement reporting.
• IC3: cyber-enabled crime, scams, fraud, financial coercion, hacking, extortion, or online crime patterns.
• DHS Know2Protect: USA child online exploitation awareness, reporting guidance, and support resources.
• Platform report: report inside the app, game, social platform, or messaging service after preserving evidence where safe.

When to treat it as serious

• Sexual messages, sexual pressure, or sexualised contact
• Requests for photos, videos, livestreams, voice notes, or private calls
• Threats, blackmail, sextortion, or pressure to send more
• Adult or unknown person contacting a child repeatedly
• Pressure to move from a game or app into a private app
• Attempts to meet in person
• Child sexual abuse material concerns
• Trafficking, coercion, payment, gifts, or organised exploitation concerns
• AI nudify, deepfake, fake sexual images, or image-based abuse

Lane 1 — NCMEC CyberTipline

Use NCMEC CyberTipline for suspected online child sexual exploitation, grooming, online enticement, child sexual abuse material, trafficking concerns, or sexual coercion involving a child.

• Online grooming or enticement
• Sexual conversations with a child
• Requests for sexual images, videos, calls, or livestreams
• Child sexual abuse material concerns
• Unsolicited sexual content sent to a child
• Child sex trafficking or exploitation concerns
• Sextortion or sexual blackmail involving a child

Lane 2 — FBI / IC3

Use FBI reporting and IC3 when the situation involves cyber-enabled crime, financial coercion, scams, extortion, threats, account compromise, or broader criminal activity online.

• Financially motivated sextortion
• Online blackmail or extortion
• Fraud linked to online contact
• Hacking, account compromise, or identity threats
• Cybercrime involving a child or family
• Repeated online threats across platforms

Lane 3 — DHS Know2Protect

Know2Protect is a USA Department of Homeland Security campaign focused on preventing and responding to online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

• Use it for USA-specific reporting guidance
• Use it for parent, caregiver, and trusted adult education
• Use it when you need child exploitation awareness and response resources
• Use it alongside NCMEC CyberTipline when reporting suspected exploitation

Lane 4 — Police and local law enforcement

Use police when the risk may move into the real world, when harm is immediate, or when the person may be identifiable locally.

• Someone is trying to meet the child
• You know who the person is
• There are real-world threats
• There is stalking, coercion, or intimidation
• The child may be at local risk
• The situation is escalating quickly

Images, deepfakes, and Take It Down

If nude, partially nude, sexually explicit, edited, AI-generated, or threatened images involving a child are involved, respond quickly and calmly.

• Do not shame the child
• Do not forward illegal material
• Do not post the images publicly
• Preserve context safely: usernames, links, messages, threats, dates, and app names
• Use NCMEC CyberTipline for exploitation concerns
• Use Take It Down for eligible nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos involving people under 18

What to do immediately

• Keep the child physically safe
• Stay calm on the outside
• Tell them they are not in trouble for telling you
• Reduce unsafe contact where safe
• Save usernames, profile links, group names, server names, and timestamps
• Take screenshots of threats, requests, and context where safe
• Write down what happened in order
• Do not delete anything before preserving evidence safely
• Do not confront the suspected person before reporting

What not to do

• Do not shame, blame, mock, or punish the child for telling you
• Do not delete chats, accounts, or messages before saving evidence safely
• Do not forward child sexual abuse material or illegal images
• Do not post accusations publicly
• Do not threaten the suspected person
• Do not pretend to be the child to investigate further
• Do not assume blocking alone fixes the risk
• Do not make the child carry the report alone

How to talk to the child

The first adult response can decide whether the child keeps talking or shuts down.

Report inside the platform too

Platform reporting can help stop contact quickly, but it does not replace formal reporting where child exploitation, threats, coercion, or real-world danger are involved.

• Use in-app reporting tools
• Save report confirmation if available
• Record usernames, links, servers, groups, and timestamps
• Block after saving evidence where safe

USA reporting and evidence cluster

These POSH pages support parents through evidence handling, safe reporting, image abuse, official pathways, and whole-family protection.

Best next steps