Sextortion Prevention Speaker for Schools, Families, and Law Enforcement
Dr. Sameer Hinduja helps schools, law enforcement, clinicians, platforms, and other organizations understand and address one of the fastest-growing threats to young people.
The Research Behind the Talk
Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D. is a sextortion prevention keynote speaker, a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University, and Co-Director of the Cyberbullying Research Center. He speaks at K-12 student assemblies, faculty professional development days, parent evenings, law enforcement trainings, and national conferences on sextortion, sexting, and image-based abuse among minors. His research has been cited approximately 30,000 times.
Financial sextortion has surged, and it is reaching younger and younger teens, often boys, who are targeted by organized actors operating across borders. Many adults do not yet understand how it works, how quickly it escalates, or why a frightened young person so rarely tells anyone.
Dr. Sameer Hinduja has published some of the most cited research on adolescent sexting and sextortion in the United States. Crucially, the talk explains not only what to do, but why young people engage in the behaviors, such as sexting, that can lead to sextortion in the first place, grounded in adolescent development. That understanding is what makes prevention work, and the session translates it into strategies for schools and homes, delivered with care and without sensationalism.
Platforms care deeply about this issue, and Dr. Hinduja speaks to technology companies on it directly. The talk covers the platform side, how companies can detect threats, support reporting, verify users, and build products that reduce the risk of sextortion and image-based abuse.
What the Research Shows
His 2018 national study with Dr. Justin Patchin, published in Sexual Abuse, was among the first to measure the nature and extent of sextortion among US adolescents.
His early 2026 research documented a significant rise in teen sexting, covered by Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report, and examined financial sextortion in which organized actors, often operating from overseas, use real or AI-generated intimate images to extort money from teens, particularly boys.
His work on the legal and developmental dimensions of youth sextortion appears in Behavioral Sciences and the Law, Child Abuse and Neglect, and Archives of Sexual Behavior, and he writes on policy responses including the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
Dr. Hinduja's studies draw on data from approximately 40,000 young people in the United States and internationally, and his research has been cited approximately 30,000 times across pediatrics, psychology, education, computer science, and nursing.
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Sextortion and Image-Based Abuse: Protecting Young People
The session explains how sextortion and image-based abuse actually unfold, why young people are vulnerable, and what trusted adults can do to prevent harm and respond well when it happens. It covers the developmental reasons behind risky behavior, concrete prevention strategies for both schools and homes, the legal and reporting landscape, and the importance of a calm, non-punitive response. The emphasis throughout is on education and support rather than fear or blame.
Audiences leave able to:
- Understand how sextortion and image-based abuse work and how fast they escalate
- Understand why young people engage in behaviors like sexting that can lead to sextortion
- Apply prevention strategies that work in both school and home settings
- Recognize the warning signs and the reasons young people stay silent
- Respond in supportive, non-punitive ways that keep young people safe
- Know the legal and reporting landscape, including recent legislation
Who This Is For
Each presentation is tailored to the audience and the concerns of the specific community, and is available in person or online. Independent, private, and faith-based schools are a significant part of this work, and have their own page covering assemblies, parent evenings, and faculty in-service.
What Hosts Say
"As a law enforcement professional working in the school system, the information Dr. Hinduja provided was easily understood and showed others what we are dealing with and what can be done to educate youth and parents."
Adam Heath, School Resource Officer, Abingdon Police Department
"His realistic approach reminds parents that technology is not evil, but a part of life we need to learn to navigate. After listening to Sameer, audience members are provided with realistic solutions."
Carol Johnson, Community Education Manager, Eagle River Youth Coalition, CO
"I was so pleased with Dr. Hinduja's presentation at our Cyber Crime conference. He offered a well-planned, well-executed presentation, and participants came away with information relevant to their jobs as well as practical solutions."
Denise Dew, MSW, Conference Coordinator, Children's Advocacy Center of Bristol/Washington County, VA
"It was an absolute privilege. He had a speaking style that immediately engaged and connected with the audience, and both caregivers and attendees found his sessions impactful and informative."
Milet Hopping, Teen Suicide Prevention Symposium, Junior League of Waco, TX
"He communicated most eloquently and effectively the importance of being skillful with technology so that we can responsibly understand and monitor the online environments of our youth."
Kim Mazauskas, Bullying Prevention and Intervention Coordinator, School District of Palm Beach County, FL
"At this moment Sameer is one of the premier speakers on the issue of cyberbullying and sexting with adolescents and young adults. He is personable and easily connects with young people."
Detrick McGriff, Ed.D., Principal, Haverford Middle School
Common Questions
Who is a good sextortion speaker for schools?
Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D. is a sextortion prevention speaker and a Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University who has published original research on sextortion, sexting, and image-based abuse among adolescents. He presents to K-12 schools, independent schools, districts, law enforcement, and national conferences, and he handles the subject without shame or scare tactics.
What does a sextortion presentation cover?
A sextortion presentation from Dr. Hinduja covers how these schemes work, why adolescent boys are frequently targeted, why victims stay silent, what a school should do in the first hours after a report, how to involve law enforcement and platforms, and how to talk with students about it in a way that makes disclosure more likely.
Is sextortion content appropriate for student audiences?
Yes. The student version is written to be age-appropriate and is calibrated by division. The goal is that a student who is being extorted knows, in that moment, that the situation is survivable and that telling an adult is the way out.
Does the session cover AI-generated images and deepfake extortion?
Yes. Extortion using AI-generated and manipulated images of real students is now part of the threat, and Dr. Hinduja's current research covers deepfake abuse and AI-generated nonconsensual imagery alongside traditional sextortion.
What should a school do in the first hours of a sextortion incident?
The session gives schools a practical sequence, preserve evidence, avoid blaming the student, involve the right authorities, understand what platforms can remove, and support the student through what follows. Schools leave with the steps written down rather than with a general warning.
Background
per Stanford University and Elsevier
Dr. Hinduja is a Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. He co-founded the Cyberbullying Research Center, has published eight books, and is Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Bullying Prevention. He has testified before the U.S. Attorney General and federal departments and advised the White House across two administrations on youth online safety. You can read his full biography at hinduja.org.
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