Four men have killed themselves in the UK in the last year after becoming victims of sextortion, police say.
The number of people reporting financially-motivated webcam blackmails has more than doubled from 385 in 2015 to 864 up to November 2016.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said it believed it was also significantly under-reported and actual numbers of victims were likely much higher.
The National Police Chiefs' Council said the rise in cases was "worrying".
Sextortion is a form of blackmail where criminals use fake identities to befriend victims online before persuading them to perform sexual acts in front of their webcam.
The images are recorded by the criminals who then threaten to share them with the victims' friends and family unless they give in to their demands for payment.
Around 95% of victims of sextortion were men, the figures released by the NCA showed.
It said victims were aged between 14 and 82, with the highest proportion being men aged between 21 and 30, and with a substantial proportion in the 11-20 age group.
'I thought about suicide'
Teenager Gary was blackmailed after he started visiting dating websites and was asked to talk over webcam.
"She invited me onto webcam, where she looked similar to her profile picture... the video call lasted for around 30 to 45 minutes, all on the phone. She said 'show me a bit more, and show me your face'.
"Then the messages came up, saying 'pay £500 or this is going all over social media. I want £500', and listing my friends' details."
Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38150313Could be in tech, I suppose. Move as appropriate.
