Alex's Answer

I got a sextortion email and I’m scared

Your Question

Help. I got a sextortion email and now i’m scared. I hate myself for this but i do watch porn and i hate it. I know tge email is a scam but my heart can’t stop beating. 

Answer

Hi there, welcome to Ask Alex. 

Thanks for reaching out about this and trusting us with your thoughts. We know it can be difficult to share what’s on your mind. 

You said you received a sextortion email and are now scared of what will happen. You mentioned you watch porn and are aware the email is a scam, but your heart won’t stop beating.  

It’s completely understandable that you are feeling scared or anxious after this. Online scams can catch us off guard and make us feel unsafe. It’s important to know that you are not alone with this, and you have the right to get help and support in dealing with it. You’ve taken an important first step by talking about this to Childline. There are a few different ways you can protect yourself against these types of online attacks including changing your online passwords and reporting it to your local Garda station. You can find some useful tips on the Childline website too around online security that you might find helpful: https://www.childline.ie/online-safety/ ; https://www.childline.ie/6-simple-ways-to-improve-your-security-online/. Citizensinformation.ie provides tips on what to do if you feel you’ve been scammed as well.  

You also mentioned you hate yourself for watching porn. It is normal to explore your sexuality and to be curious about it. Childline.ie has some interesting articles that discuss this topic if you want to take a look. While it’s healthy to learn more about sexuality, there are some things to be aware of when it comes to online pornography that you can check out on our website: https://www.childline.ie/the-truth-about-online-pornography/. Sometimes it can help talking to a trusted adult about this too, one you feel comfortable discussing this topic with such as an older sibling, aunt/uncle or a teacher or counsellor at school. 

If you don’t feel you can talk to anyone and want to explore your thoughts and feelings around this, you’re very welcome to reach out to chat to us here at Childline. We offer a free, confidential, and non-judgmental listening service and are happy to listen to what’s going on for you. You can contact us by phone on 1800 66 66 66; text: 50101 or contact us online at www.childline.ie where you can register to have a chat with us.  

We hope that you find some of this information helpful.    

Take care,  

Alex

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