Teenage boys and young adult males are often the targets of sextortion. — Teenage boys and young adult males are believed to be among most vulnerable to gangs using real and fake images to blackmail victims. Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

Tell us: have you been affected by sexual extortion?

We’d like to hear from over-18s affected by the issue to understand how they have coped

The Guardian has been reporting on the sharp rise in financially motivated sexual extortion – commonly known as “sextortion”.

Teenage boys and young adult males are often the targets, duped into sharing intimate images of themselves with a stranger who then threatens to share those images online unless they pay up.

Law enforcement agencies report that the perpetrators are most usually loosely organised cyber-criminal gangs based overseas.

Tragically, a number of young men in the UK, as well as the US and Australia, have taken their own lives after being targeted in this way.

Share your experience

We would like to hear from over-18s affected by this issue in order to understand how they coped. How, if at all, were you able to seek support?

You do not need to share very much detail as one of our journalists will get in touch before we publish anything. Please do leave contact details.

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What is your experience of sextortion?

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How did you feel? Were you able to seek support? Optional

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