FBI says cybercriminals are hacking into victims’ online accounts to steal their intimate pictures

Published 11 August 2026 · tech

In Brief The FBI is warning that cybercriminals are hacking into the social media accounts of adults and children to steal their intimate explicit images

In Brief The FBI is warning that cybercriminals are hacking into the social media accounts of adults and children to steal their intimate explicit images and videos. The perpetrators rely largely on social engineering tactics to target people, the alert said, and victims are often extorted, or their stolen content published online. “Victims often face re-victimization through harassment, sextortion, stalking or other targeted attacks, such as stolen content on a victim’s own social media page,” the FBI wrote.

These types of crimes have been known for years. But the FBI’s public alert could indicate that these incidents are now on the rise, according to Rachel Tobac, the CEO of the security awareness training firm SocialProof Security. The FBI did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. Tobac said that these attacks especially target young boys, and that these attacks are “a big public health issue,” given that sometimes the victims are driven to self-harm in response.

The FBI’s advisory said the attackers rely on brute-forcing accounts using leaked or previously used passwords, impersonating customer service representatives by pretending to work for Instagram and other social media companies, and contacting targets alleging that they need to recover their account. Some hackers use phishing emails that rely on fake domains that look like legitimate social media log-in pages. To protect yourself, use unique passwords stored in a password manager, ensure multi-factor authentication is switched on, and be suspicious of anyone reaching out unprompted claiming to work for a social media company, as tech companies generally do not reach out to their customers.

The advisory also urges people to avoid storing sensitive and intimate pictures in online accounts.

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