Spike in online crimes against children a “wake-up call”

Already this year, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has seen sharp increases in new and evolving crimes targeting children on the internet, including online enticement, use of artificial intelligence and child sex trafficking.

For the first time, we’re releasing statistics for just half of 2025 through June, compared to the same time last year, to get this important information out to the public quickly rather than at year’s end. These crime trends are gleaned from millions of reports sent to our CyberTipline, which serves as the national reporting mechanism for online child sexual exploitation. 

In that six-month time frame, online enticement reports to our CyberTipline jumped from 292,951 last year to 518,720 this year. Reports of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) related to child sexual exploitation soared from 6,835 reports to 440,419.

“These alarming increases are a wake-up call,” said John Shehan, senior vice president who oversees our Exploited Children Division. “These statistics are not just numbers – they represent children experiencing unthinkable harm. We need parents, caregivers, educators and communities to stay alert and talk openly with children about online risks.”

The CyberTipline gives NCMEC a unique perspective on the ways offenders are targeting children on what has become a global online playground. As threats against children continue to evolve, NCMEC is constantly adapting by finding new ways to address the toughest challenges kids face.

Sadistic online exploitation is one of the most disturbing types of online enticement we’ve seen. Violent groups are targeting kids on publicly available messaging platforms, including Discord, Roblox and gaming sites. Initially offenders befriend them and initiate an online relationship, then force their young targets to record or live stream acts of harm against themselves and others. 

One mother told NCMEC a violent group member made her daughter cut its screen name into her arm with a razor blade, then told her she was a good girl and that they love her. Her mother couldn’t believe her daughter’s response: “I love you, too!” 

“These guys are very scary,” the mother told NCMEC. “Just the power they have over my daughter is mind blowing. Please help!”

Reports of financial sextortion, still a relatively new type of online crime, are also continuing to spike – from 13,842 in the first six months last year compared to 23,593 this year.

Unlike offenders with sexual motivations to prey on children, these offenders are driven purely for financial gain. Offenders often use fake social media accounts to convince their targets, mostly teenage boys, to send them sexually explicit images, then immediately begin demanding money. They threaten to post their images on the internet if they don’t comply. We’re aware of more than three dozen teens who’ve taken their lives as a result of being victimized by this crime. 

Now with the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) to create content, enticement is not always necessary for this type of crime. Rather than coercing sexual content, offenders are increasingly using GAI tools to create explicit images using the child’s face from public social media or school or community postings, then blackmail them.

“NCMEC began tracking GAI in 2023, and the growth has been staggering,” Shehan said. “It’s important that we stay on top of these emerging threats to warn the public and adjust our strategies for protecting children.”

This technology can be used to create or alter images, provide guidelines for how to groom or abuse children or even simulate the experience of an explicit chat with a child.

It’s also being used to create nude images, not just sexually explicit ones, that are sometimes referred to as “deepfakes.” Often done as a prank in high schools, these images are having a devastating impact on the lives and futures of mostly female students when they are shared online.

While child sex trafficking (CST) is not a new or emerging trend, the volume by which it is being reported to the CyberTipline, who is reporting it and the methods being used to target children all represent new and evolving trends.

The increase in reports of CST – most children are sold for sex on the internet, not on the streets – has had the sharpest increase: from 5,976 during first half of last year to 62,891 in the first six months of this year. The dramatic spike was prompted by passage in Congress last year of The REPORT Act.

The REPORT Act expanded mandatory reporting to include two additional types of child sexual exploitation: online enticement and CST. It also increases the maximum fines for electronic service providers (ESPs) who knowingly and willfully fail to submit reports to NCMEC.

“More reports mean more knowledge to drive action and protect children from harm,” said Melissa Snow, who oversees our child sex trafficking programs. “Insights into evolving methods used by adults to target children enables improved prevention and education messaging to parents and caregivers that also empower teens.”

While we’re making strides in combatting all forms of child sexual exploitation, the risks, especially online, are becoming more complex and widespread.

That’s why it’s critical for ESPs and the public to report any concerns to Cybertipline.org and to know that NCMEC can provide resources and support to those impacted by these horrendous crimes.

For more information, visit https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/cybertipline.