If someone made a deepfake of you, or is threatening you

What to do, step by step

1. Do not pay, and do not send anything more. Paying almost never ends it: it tells the person that threats work. Stop replying once you have saved what you need.
2. Save the evidence before anything is deleted. Screenshots of the messages and the profile, the account name and its link, the dates. Keep them somewhere only you can open. Do not forward the image itself.
3. Report it to the police helpline. In India, call 1930 or report on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. It has a separate section for crimes against women, which can be reported without your name.
4. Ask the platform to take it down. Use the report button on the post and on the account. For an intimate image of an adult, StopNCII.org can stop copies on the platforms that use it, without the image leaving your phone.
5. Lock your accounts. Make profiles private for now, remove followers you do not know, change your passwords and turn on two-step sign-in.
6. Tell one person you trust. A friend, a sister, a colleague. You do not have to explain everything to ask for company.

If the person in the image is under 18, or was when it was made, follow the steps for minors instead: help for anyone under 18

Helplines

• National Cyber Crime Helpline (India)Police help for online crimes, including threats, blackmail and made-up images.Call 1930cybercrime.gov.in(not checked yet)
• National Commission for Women (India)The commission's helpline for women, also on WhatsApp.Call 7827170170ncw.nic.in(not checked yet)
• RATI Foundation, Meri TrustlineA helpline for people facing abuse online. We add its number once we have checked it.ratifoundation.org(not checked yet)

What PrivaCheckup can check for you

Only about you, after a one-time code to your own email or number.

• Your full report: leaks that hold your email or number, and how to fix each one.