The FBI says hackers are breaking into adults' and minors' accounts to steal intimate images for extortion.
Why it matters: The alert shows account compromise can escalate into blackmail, harassment and reputational damage fast. It also broadens the warning beyond minors to adults and public-profile targets.
- The FBI posted the alert Aug. 11 on its cyber alerts page.
- The bureau said criminals are targeting adults' and children's social media and other online accounts.
- TechCrunch reported attackers use social engineering, leaked or reused passwords, fake customer support and phishing pages that mimic login sites.
- The FBI said student-athletes are frequent targets because of their public profiles.
The FBI said cybercriminals are compromising social media and other online accounts to steal intimate images and videos, then threatening to publish them for extortion. The alert, posted Aug. 11 on the FBI's cyber alerts page, applies to both adults and minors in the U.S.
The bureau's warning comes as TechCrunch reported attackers often rely on social engineering, brute-forcing accounts with leaked or reused passwords, impersonating social-media customer support and phishing pages that look like legitimate login sites. The FBI said victims can face sextortion, stalking, harassment and re-victimization through public reposting of stolen content.
The bureau also said stolen content can be reposted publicly, including on the victim's own social accounts. It singled out student-athletes as frequent targets because of their public profiles.
The FBI advised users to use unique passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, watch for unsolicited account-recovery outreach and avoid storing intimate photos in online accounts.
Yes, but: The alert overlaps with earlier FBI sextortion warnings, but this notice expands the focus to account hacking and extortion against adults as well as minors.
What's next: The practical step now is for users to change passwords, turn on multi-factor authentication and review account recovery settings immediately.