For Teachers

A complete cyber-crime lesson, ready to teach.

Everything you need to deliver a strong one-hour lesson on sextortion, grooming, blackmail and the other online crimes students face: a timed lesson plan, teaching content, printable worksheets and activities, and sample response forms for your school. Built on FBI, NCMEC and other agency guidance, in our own words.

How to use this kit. Present the talking points in Teach It, run a G-CIX scenario on the projector, hand out the Printables, and keep the Sample SOPs on file for your administration. Everything here is general educational material — the legal and SOP sections are not legal advice; adapt them with your administration, district policy and legal counsel, and always follow your state's mandated-reporter law. Some content covers suicide and sexual exploitation; preview it and make sure a counselor knows about the lesson.

The 1-hour lesson plan

A ready run-of-show. Adjust timing for your class. Pair each segment with the linked G-CIX resource.

Time	Segment	What to cover	G-CIX resource
0–5	Hook & ground rules	Set two rules: it's never the student's fault, and no one gets in trouble for telling. Ask: "Has an app ever felt unsafe?"	—
5–12	The landscape & definitions	What these crimes are and how common they are. Walk the key terms below.	Facts & Stats
12–22	How offenders operate	The sextortion flow and the stages of grooming; how a stranger becomes a "friend."	Predator Behavior
22–30	Where you're exposed	What accounts leak (location, school, routine) and how to lock them down.	Account Exposure
30–42	Scenario practice	Project a G-CIX scenario; class votes on each choice and reads why.	Awareness Training
42–50	The law: consequences & protection	Offenders face serious charges; victims are protected, not punished. Discuss a legal scenario.	Legal Scenarios
50–58	What to do	Save evidence, report & block, and tell a trusted adult. Practice the steps.	Report & Block · Get Help
58–60	Exit ticket	Hand out the exit ticket (in Printables) to check understanding.	Printables

Teach it: key definitions

Plain-language definitions you can say out loud. Full sources on the References page.

Term	What it means (student-friendly)
Sextortion	Threatening to share someone's private or sexual images unless they give money, more images, or something else.
Financial sextortion	Sextortion where the goal is money. Offenders often pose as a peer, get one image, then demand payment. It most often targets teen boys 14–17.
Grooming	When someone builds trust with a young person step by step in order to exploit or abuse them.
Online enticement	An adult using the internet to persuade or coerce a minor into sexual activity or images. It is a federal crime.
CSAM	Child sexual abuse material — any sexual image of someone under 18. Creating, sending, receiving or keeping it is a crime, even between minors.
NCII / "revenge porn"	Non-consensual intimate images — sharing someone's private images without consent. A federal crime under the TAKE IT DOWN Act (2025), including AI fakes.
Deepfake	A fake image, video or voice made with AI to look real. Fake sexual images of a real person cause real harm and can be illegal.
Cyberbullying	Using phones or apps to repeatedly harass, threaten, humiliate or exclude someone.
Doxxing	Publishing someone's private information (address, school, phone) to expose or threaten them.
Swatting	Making a fake emergency call to send armed police to someone's home. It is a serious, sometimes deadly, crime.
Catfishing	Using a fake identity or stolen photos to deceive someone online.
Phishing / smishing	Fake messages (email / text) that trick you into giving passwords, codes or money. "Smishing" is phishing by text.
Money mule	Someone who moves stolen money for criminals, often recruited with "easy money" offers. It can bring criminal charges.
Extortion / blackmail	Forcing someone to do something by threatening to harm or expose them.

Key distinction for students: being tricked or coerced makes a young person a victim, not a criminal. The person doing the threatening, producing or sharing is the one breaking the law.

How offenders operate

Teach students the pattern so they recognize it early. Based on FBI and NCMEC guidance and grooming research [5][6][47][48].

The stages of grooming

Not a fixed script — it can take minutes or months, and stages overlap.

Target. They pick someone who seems lonely, unsupervised or eager for attention, often from a public profile.
Make contact & build trust. They pose as a peer, shower attention, share "secrets," and seem to understand the student.
Isolate. They move the chat to a private app and encourage secrecy from parents and friends.
Desensitize. They slowly introduce sexual talk or images to make it feel normal.
Exploit & maintain control. Once they have an image or secret, they use threats and blackmail to keep the student silent and compliant.

The financial-sextortion playbook

The fastest-growing threat to teens, especially boys 14–17.

A new "friend" (often posing as a girl) messages on social media, gaming or a video-chat app.
They move fast and flirt, then push to trade a revealing photo.
The moment they have one image, they flip to threats: "Pay or I send this to your whole school."
They may already have the student's friends list and school to make the threat scarier.
Many of these schemes are run from overseas and are purely about money.

Teach the rule: don't pay, stop replying, save evidence, block & report, and tell a trusted adult. Paying does not make it stop.

Warning signs & online-stalker behavior to name for students

A new online contact who moves too fast to be close or romantic
Wants to leave the public app for a private one quickly
Asks you to keep the chat secret from parents and friends
Asks for photos, especially private ones, or sends them first
Seems to know a lot about you already (school, team, schedule)

Gives gifts, game currency or money early on
Gets angry, guilt-trips or threatens if you pull back
Shows up across multiple apps after you block them
Pressures you to meet in person or turn on camera
Any adult who wants a secret relationship with a minor

Areas of exposure on accounts

Show students what their accounts give away — and the settings that shut it down. Based on CISA and FTC guidance [28].

What leaks	How it's used against a student	The fix
Public profile & photos	Strangers copy photos, learn routines, or build a fake "mutual friend" angle.	Set accounts to private; accept only people known in real life.
Location & live location	Shows exactly where a student is, in real time.	Turn location sharing off (or family only); no live tags.
School, team, birthday in bio	Combined, these let a stranger find a student in person (doxxing).	Remove locating details; keep the bio vague.
Photo backgrounds & metadata	House numbers, street signs, school logos and hidden GPS data reveal home and school.	Check backgrounds; turn off camera location (EXIF).
Open DMs / message requests	Strangers can message out of nowhere — how most sextortion starts.	Limit messages to friends/followers only.
Reused & weak passwords	One leak unlocks every account; enables takeover and impersonation.	Unique passwords + a password manager + two-factor.
Same username everywhere	Lets a harasser follow a student from a game to social media.	Use different usernames per platform.

Teachable legal scenarios

Short discussion cases that reinforce both protection for victims and deterrence through real consequences.

Important: This is general educational information, not legal advice. Penalties are summarized at a high level; actual charges depend on the facts and on federal and state law, which varies. Sources: U.S. Code and DOJ [49][50] and the TAKE IT DOWN Act (2025) [24].

1 · The coerced photo

A 15-year-old is talked into sending one revealing photo, then threatened for money.

Discuss: Who is the criminal here?

The legal reality: The student is a victim. An adult who persuades or coerces a minor into sexual images can be charged with online enticement (18 U.S.C. § 2422) and production of CSAM (§ 2251) — federal felonies carrying mandatory-minimum prison terms. The threat itself is extortion.

2 · "Just forwarding a joke"

A student receives a nude of a classmate and forwards it to a few friends.

Discuss: Is forwarding "no big deal"?

The legal reality: A sexual image of anyone under 18 is CSAM. Sending, receiving or keeping it can be a crime even for minors, and sharing it without consent violates the TAKE IT DOWN Act. It is also a school matter. The lesson: never forward — report and delete.

3 · The AI deepfake

A student uses a "nudify" app to make a fake explicit image of a classmate.

Discuss: It's fake — is it still illegal?

The legal reality: The harm is real. Publishing non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated fakes, is a federal crime under the TAKE IT DOWN Act (2025), and many states have their own laws. Platforms must remove such images on request.

4 · The fake 911 call

A student, angry over a game, makes a fake emergency call to send police to a rival's house (swatting).

Discuss: Is this a "prank"?

The legal reality: Swatting is a serious crime that has gotten people killed and brings state and federal charges. Threats of violence online are investigated as real threats.

Printable student worksheets & activities

Click Print this sheet on any card to print or save it as a PDF (just that sheet prints).

Activity 1 · Spot the Red Flags

Name: ______________________ Date: __________ Class: __________

Read each message. Write the red flag you notice and what you'd do.

"Hey, let's keep talking on this other app — don't tell your parents 😉"
"You won a $500 gift card! Just log in here to claim it in the next 10 minutes."
"Send me one pic and I'll send one back. I promise I won't show anyone."
"I accidentally sent my verification code to your number — can you send it back?"

Activity 2 · What Would You Do?

Write your steps in order. There is no "perfect" answer — show your thinking.

A. Someone you only know online is threatening to share a photo of you unless you pay.

B. A friend shows you a nude of a classmate and says "forward it."

C. A friend texts you late at night that they don't want to be alive anymore.

Activity 3 · Lock-It-Down Account Checklist

Check each account you use. Tick the box once it's done.

☐ My accounts are set to private
☐ Only people I know in real life can follow or message me
☐ Location sharing is off (or family only); no live location
☐ My bio does not show my school, team number, birthday or hangout
☐ Two-factor authentication is on for my important accounts
☐ I use a different, strong password for each account
☐ Camera location (GPS) tagging is turned off
☐ I know how to report and block on every app I use

Activity 4 · Match the Term

Draw a line from each word to its meaning.

1. Sextortion
2. Grooming
3. Doxxing
4. Catfishing
5. Phishing
6. Money mule

___ Building trust with a young person to exploit them
___ Fake messages that steal passwords or money
___ Threatening to share private images for money
___ Moving stolen money for criminals
___ Using a fake identity or stolen photos
___ Posting someone's private info to expose them

Teacher key: 1→threatening to share; 2→building trust; 3→posting private info; 4→fake identity; 5→fake messages; 6→moving stolen money.

Exit Ticket · Quick Check (5 questions)

Name: ______________________ Date: __________

True or False: If you get tricked into sending a photo, you are the one who will be in trouble. (Answer: False — you're the victim.)
Name two things you should do if someone threatens to share your photo.
Why should you never pay a sextortion demand?
What does "don't tell anyone" from an online contact usually mean?
Name one trusted adult you could tell, and one hotline you could contact.

Print & Cut · Red-Flag & Hotline Cards

Print, cut along the dashed lines, and hand out.

🚩 "Move to another app"A stranger wanting to leave the public app and keep it secret is a red flag.

🚩 "Send one first"Anyone pressuring you for a photo — or to "go first" in a trade — is a red flag.

🚩 "Pay or I'll post it"That's sextortion. Don't pay. Save it, block, report, tell an adult.

🚩 "Don't tell anyone"A secret an adult wants you to keep from your parents is the sign to tell.

GET HELP — keep this card

In danger now: 911

Suicide & Crisis: call/text 988 · text HOME to 741741

Sextortion / images of a minor: NCMEC CyberTipline 1-800-843-5678 · report.cybertip.org

FBI: tips.fbi.gov · Remove images: takeitdown.ncmec.org

Sample SOPs & admin forms

Starting templates your school can adapt. Print any sheet to edit on paper or save as a PDF.

These are sample, general-purpose templates — not legal advice and not a substitute for your district's policy. Adapt them with your administration, district counsel and school resource officer, and always follow your state's mandated-reporter law. They are written originally for G-CIX and informed by NCMEC and federal guidance [6][47]; your legal duties come from your state and district, not this page.

SOP A · Student is the victim of online exploitation / sextortion

Ensure safety. If the student may harm themselves or is in danger, do not leave them alone; contact administration and, if needed, 911 and 988.
Stay calm and supportive. Make clear it is not their fault. Do not interrogate; let them share what they're comfortable with.
Do not view, copy, forward or print any explicit image of a minor. Do not ask the student or others to show or send it.
Preserve evidence. Have the student keep (not delete) accounts and messages. Record usernames, dates and what was demanded (see the Evidence Preservation Checklist).
Follow mandated reporting. Notify administration and make required reports under your state law and district policy without delay.
Involve law enforcement. Contact your school resource officer or local police; report to the NCMEC CyberTipline (1-800-843-5678) and FBI (tips.fbi.gov).
Support the student. Connect them with a school counselor and, when safe and appropriate, their family.
Help with removal. Share Take It Down (takeitdown.ncmec.org) for images of a minor.
Document actions taken on the Cyber Incident Report. Limit access to the record to those who need it.

SOP B · Student created or shared explicit images / threats

Protect any victim first using SOP A. Treat the targeted student as a victim.
Do not view, copy or distribute the image. Secure devices only as your policy and law enforcement direct — do not search a student's phone beyond your authority.
Preserve evidence and document who reported what and when.
Make mandated reports and notify administration; involve the SRO or law enforcement — sharing CSAM and credible threats are crimes, not only discipline matters.
Apply school discipline per your code of conduct, in parallel with (not instead of) any law-enforcement process.
Consider safety and civil-rights obligations (e.g., harassment / Title IX) and involve the appropriate coordinator.
Loop in counseling for all students affected, and notify families per policy.

Form 1 · Cyber Incident Report

Reporting staff member:

Date / time reported:

Student(s) involved (role: victim / reporter / other):

Type of incident (sextortion, grooming, cyberbullying, image sharing, threat, scam, other):

Platform(s) / app(s):

Brief description (facts only, no images):

Evidence preserved? (Y/N) & where:

Mandated report made? (Y/N) To whom / when:

Law enforcement / SRO notified? (Y/N) When:

Family notified? (Y/N) When:

Counselor involved? (Y/N):

Follow-up actions / next steps:

Form 2 · Evidence Preservation Checklist

Preserve information without viewing, copying or storing explicit images of a minor. Let law enforcement collect those.

☐ Student instructed not to delete accounts, chats or the app
☐ Offender's username / handle recorded: ____________________
☐ Profile link / URL recorded
☐ Dates and times of contact noted
☐ What was demanded (money, images, meeting) and any payment method (gift card, app, crypto)
☐ Non-explicit screenshots of threats/messages saved to a secure location
☐ Record of who has accessed this information
☐ Explicit images left for law enforcement — not copied or forwarded

Form 3 · Parent / Guardian Notification (template)

Adapt wording to the situation and your policy.

Dear [Parent/Guardian],

I'm contacting you about a situation involving your student that came to our attention on [date]. It involves [brief, non-graphic description, e.g., "an online safety concern"]. Our priority is your student's safety and wellbeing.

So far, the school has: [actions — e.g., supported the student, preserved information, made required reports, notified our school resource officer]. We did not view or copy any private images, and we encourage you not to, as that can itself be unlawful; law enforcement will handle any such material.

Recommended next steps for your family: [e.g., contact the NCMEC CyberTipline at 1-800-843-5678, report to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, use takeitdown.ncmec.org, and consider counseling support]. Please don't have your student pay anyone or delete their accounts.

We're here to help. You can reach me at [contact].

[Name, title]

Staff Quick-Reference Card

IF A STUDENT DISCLOSES AN ONLINE INCIDENT

1. Safety first — don't leave an at-risk student alone (911 / 988 if needed).

2. "It's not your fault." Stay calm; don't interrogate.

3. Do NOT view, copy or forward images of a minor.

4. Preserve info; tell the student not to delete.

5. Make mandated reports; notify admin + SRO.

6. Report: NCMEC 1-800-843-5678 · tips.fbi.gov.

7. Counselor + family per policy. Document it.

All content on this page is written originally for G-CIX and based on guidance from the FBI, NCMEC, DOJ, CISA, FTC and StopBullying.gov. It is general educational material and not legal advice. Sources are listed on the References page.