FBI Warns of Surge in Hacking to Steal Intimate Images

The FBI has issued a public warning about a surge in cybercriminals hacking into social media and personal accounts to steal explicit images and videos, primarily targeting both adults and minors. In an advisory published on August 10, 2026, the bureau detailed how stolen content is then sold on dark web marketplaces or used to launch sextortion schemes, where victims are blackmailed with threats to release the material.

The stolen intimate content is frequently posted alongside the victim's personally identifiable information, such as their name, date of birth, email address, and phone number. This combination exposes individuals to further revictimization, including harassment, stalking, and sextortion demands for payment or additional images. The FBI noted that these attacks often result in significant emotional and psychological harm to victims.

According to the advisory, hackers employ three primary tactics to gain unauthorized access. The first involves brute-force attacks, where criminals use leaked credentials from past data breaches to guess passwords and PINs. The second method relies on social engineering, with attackers impersonating social media customer support....