If someone threatens to call the police, send photos, or inform your workplace to demand money after having sexual contact or engaging in nude chat, do not pay a single cent and do not delete any records — call the police immediately.

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

Article 274 of the Criminal Law states that anyone who extorts money or property from others — when the amount is relatively large or when such acts occur repeatedly — faces up to three years in prison, detention, or surveillance, plus a fine or fine alone. Larger sums or more serious circumstances bring penalties of 3–10 years in prison plus a fine; extremely large sums or especially grave circumstances result in over ten years in prison plus a fine. A judicial interpretation further breaks these thresholds down: 2,000–5,000 yuan marks “relatively large,” 30,000–100,000 yuan marks “large,” and 300,000–500,000 yuan marks “extremely large.” Meanwhile, Article 1032 of the Civil Code protects privacy, and Article 1033 forbids using calls, texts, or messaging tools to disturb someone’s peace. Therefore, if photos are leaked, that only adds to the perpetrator’s legal liability, not yours. Local authorities routinely advise: “Preserve all evidence and call 110 right away — never send any more 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；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

The three tiers of amounts are determined by each province within the range provided by the judicial interpretation. Amounts from 2000 to 5000 yuan and above are considered a "relatively large amount." Amounts from 3 ten thousand to 10 ten thousand yuan and above are considered a "huge amount." Amounts from 30 ten thousand to 50 ten thousand yuan and above are considered an "extremely huge amount." The specific threshold for your province depends on local standards. Extortion occurring three or more times within two years is considered "multiple times," even if the amount per instance is not large. Do not simply delete chat records, photos, cancel accounts, or block the person to resolve the matter; doing so also deletes your own evidence—see Article 5 of this section (Hire a lawyer before being summoned, do not delete records). If a case is actually filed for investigation, these records serve as your material for self-exoneration. Also, do not attempt to "negotiate installments." Most naked chat extortion is carried out by overseas syndicates; they use screen recording while simultaneously using Trojans to read your contact list.「Sending messages to your family」 is just a tactic; a case can still be filed after reporting to the police. Using the threat of 「telling your family you like the same sex」 to extort money is the same type of blackmail. In Yancheng, Jiangsu, someone met a person through a same-sex social app and extorted 1.45 ten thousand yuan using this method; after the victim reported it, he was prosecuted, and he had previously been sentenced twice for using the same tactic. Using nude photos to force someone into sexual intercourse is prosecuted as rape. In Xiangshan, Zhejiang, someone tricked multiple women on social media into providing nude photos and then threatened to publish them, with 10 identified victims. One of them reported it to the police immediately upon receiving the threat; even though the two had never met, the procuratorate still handled it as attempted rape, and he was ultimately prosecuted for rape and forcible indecent assault. Therefore, do not send nude photos to people you meet online. Conversely, if you are the victim seeking compensation from the infringing party, a high amount does not necessarily constitute extortion; see Article 36 of this section (seeking compensation as a victim). If photos are indeed posted online, you can notify the platform to delete them. Article 1195 of the Civil Code stipulates that you have the right to notify the platform to delete, block, or disconnect the links, provided that the notice is accompanied by preliminary evidence of the infringement and your true identity information. If the platform fails to process the notice in a timely manner, it shall be held jointly liable with the poster for the expanded portion of the damages.