If someone threatens to call the police, post intimate photos, or inform your workplace unless you pay up — don’t give them a single cent and don’t delete any records; call the police right away

There’s no monetary cost. Take screenshots of their account info, chat logs, and payment codes, then head to the nearest police station with your phone. The hardest part is resisting the urge to “pay to make it go away.”

Article 274 of the "Criminal Law": Whoever extorts the property of the public or private parties, if the amount is relatively large or if the extortion is committed multiple times, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or non-custodial supervision, and shall also be or solely fined. Criminal detention is short-term confinement, while non-custodial supervision is non-confinement but restricts freedom; "shall also be or solely fined" means an additional fine or only a fine. Where the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined. Where the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, and shall also be fined. The Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate also have an interpretation: "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Extortion" (Fa Shi [2013] No. 10, effective since April 27, 2013). The first article of this interpretation establishes three tiers of amounts. Extorting public or private property with a value of 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan or more is identified as "relatively large amount." 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan or more is identified as "huge amount." 300,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan or more is identified as "especially huge amount." Article 3: Extorting three or more times within two years shall be identified as "multiple extortions" (Nationwide). Article 1032 of the Civil Code: No organization or individual shall infringe upon the privacy rights of others through methods such as spying, disturbing, disclosing, or making public. Article 1033 prohibits disturbing the peace of private life through methods such as telephone, SMS, or instant messaging tools. Therefore, if the other party truly sends the photos out, they have again infringed upon your right to privacy; it is not your fault. The original words from the Fujian Provincial Public Security Department's notice regarding similar cases are: "You must preserve evidence well, call 110 in a timely manner, and do not continue to transfer money."

全国人大 (2020 年修正). 刑法（第二百七十四条）. https://jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925/index.html（北京市公安交管局转载整合文本）；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2013). 关于办理敲诈勒索刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2013〕10 号）. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/5310.html；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千零三十二、一千零三十三条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一千一百九十五条）：「权利人有权通知网络服务提供者采取删除、屏蔽、断开链接等必要措施。通知应当包括构成侵权的初步证据及权利人的真实身份信息」「未及时采取必要措施的，对损害的扩大部分与该网络用户承担连带责任」. https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff808081729d1efe01729d50b5c500bf（国家法律法规数据库）；福建省公安厅 (2024). 因为一条「约炮」信息，我背上 23 万的债务. http://gat.fujian.gov.cn/ztzl/fjjffpzxrx/spjq/202403/t20240307_6410612.htm；深圳市公安局 (2022). 「裸聊」诈骗是如何一步步得逞的？. https://ga.sz.gov.cn/JMHD/YWZSK/XJGL_ZS/content/post_9577428.html；北京反诈 (2023). 防范裸聊敲诈（福建省公安厅转载）. https://gat.fujian.gov.cn/ztzl/fjjffpzxrx/dxal/202302/t20230210_6107918.htm；检察日报 (2018). 两次获刑不思悔改 曝光隐私要挟网友（徐州市鼓楼区人民检察院网站转载）. https://xzgl.jsjc.gov.cn/jianwu/baxiang/201804/t20180409_420934.shtml；检察日报 (2022). 男子以公布裸照威胁10名女性与其发生关系，大数据筛查「报警」！（最高人民检察院网站）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/zdgz/202212/t20221212_595435.shtml

Each province sets its three monetary thresholds within the ranges permitted by the judicial interpretation: the threshold for a “relatively large amount” is between 2,000 and 5,000 yuan; for a “huge amount,” between 30,000 and 100,000 yuan; and for an “especially huge amount,” between 300,000 and 500,000 yuan. Use the threshold applicable in your province. Extortion on three or more occasions within two years counts as “repeated,” even if the amount each time is small. Do not simply delete chats or photos, close your account, or block the other person: that also destroys your own evidence; see item 5 of this section (consult a lawyer when summoned and do not delete records). If a case is opened against you, these records are also material you can use to explain your own conduct. Do not try to “negotiate payment by installments,” either. Shenzhen police have described the nude-video-chat extortion scheme: scammers induce you to install a supposed video-chat app that is actually a Trojan stealing your contacts, record the entire interaction, and demand money by threatening to send the video to all those contacts. Beijing police say that once you agree to pay for a private settlement, the demands will continue without end. Threatening to tell your family that you are attracted to the same sex in order to obtain money is the same kind of extortion. In Yancheng, Jiangsu, a person arranged meetings through a same-sex social app and used this tactic to obtain 14,500 yuan. After the victim reported it, the perpetrator was prosecuted; they had already been convicted twice for the same method. Using nude photos to coerce sexual intercourse is prosecuted as rape. In Xiangshan, Zhejiang, someone tricked multiple women into sending nude photographs on social media and then threatened to publish them; investigators identified 10 victims. One woman reported the threat immediately and had never met the perpetrator, but prosecutors still treated her case as attempted rape. The perpetrator was ultimately prosecuted for rape and forcible indecency. So do not send nude photographs to people you meet online. Conversely, if you are the victim seeking compensation from the infringer, a large claim does not automatically constitute extortion; see item 36 of this section (seeking compensation as the victim). If the photos are actually posted online, you can notify the platform to remove them. Article 1195 of the Civil Code entitles you to request deletion, blocking or disconnection of links. Include preliminary evidence of the infringement and your real identity information in the notice. If the platform fails to act promptly after receiving it, the platform and the poster are jointly liable for the resulting additional harm.