SEXTORTION is an ongoing problem in the community.

Cheshire Police has issued a warning about sextortion, the practice of extorting money from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity.

Police say there are “many” people being affected by this in the Davenham and Moulton area.

PCSO Lee Robertson, of Northwich Local Policing Unit, said: “This is an ongoing issue within the community that affects teenagers and adults and is affecting people online, where people are pretending to be someone and live locally, but in the end, they could be on the other side of the world.”

PCSO Robertson has also shared some advice for how to keep yourself and your family safe online.

He advises not to give out your phone number, reply to messages or accept friend requests from people who you do not know.

If someone you are speaking to on one social media platform asks you to move to another, you should refuse and stay on the current platform, PCSO Robertson advises.

He also said, most importantly, that you should must not send out images “that can be used against you.”

PCSO Robertson's message comes as the Internet Watch Foundation revealed that it received more reports from children who had fallen victim to sextortion in the first half of this year than in the whole of 2022.

READ MORE: ‘Shocking’ rise in number of children falling victim to sextortion

The charity, which runs a hotline where children can report abuse so it can be taken down, received 191 reports in the first half of this year compared to 30 last year.

IWF’s CEO Susie Hargreaves OBE said: “It is shocking to see that more children are being cynically targeted in this way by manipulative abusers online.

“Blackmail is a serious offence, and a matter for the police, and children or adults who fall victim to this kind of abuse should contact local law enforcement.

“The IWF helps make sure child victims of sextortion are protected and given the reassurance their imagery will not be distributed online.

“IWF analysts will always respond to victims when contact details are available and offer advice and assistance for next steps.”