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SECTION 05 — FIRST 24 HOURS
FILE US-NCR/2026SECTION 05 — FIRST 24 HOURSCLASSIFICATION: CLIENT-CONFIDENTIALREAD TIME — 3 MINUTES

Crisis triage — start here

It just happened.
Do these five things.

You don’t need to understand the whole problem tonight. You need the right first moves. Here they are.

If you found this page in the worst hour of your week — this is fixable. Start with 01.

Read the five moves

Adults (18+) only — if this involves someone under 18, go straight to the referral box.

Field procedure — five moves

Five moves. In order.

Each one takes minutes. None requires a decision you can’t unmake. Check them off as you go.

  1. PROCEDURE 01 / 05HOUR 00 — NOW

    01Don’t engage.

    Don’t reply. Don’t bargain. Don’t explain.

    If there’s a demand for money — don’t pay.

    WHYPayment marks you as responsive, and the demands grow.

  2. PROCEDURE 02 / 05HOUR 00–01

    02Save the evidence.

    Copy URLs, usernames, and timestamps into a note.

    Don’t forward or repost the content itself. The links are enough for us to act.

    WHYWhat you save tonight is what makes every takedown stick.

  3. PROCEDURE 03 / 05HOUR 01–02

    03Lock your accounts.

    New passwords. Two-factor on.

    Check the session and device lists on your email and cloud storage first.

    WHYEmail and cloud storage are usually the entry point.

  4. PROCEDURE 04 / 05HOUR 02–12

    04Don’t mass-report yet.

    Hold off on filing reports site by site.

    It feels wrong to wait. It works.

    WHYScattered reports tip off the poster — content gets mirrored before takedowns land. Notices work best when they hit everything at once.

  5. PROCEDURE 05 / 05BY HOUR 24

    05Get a professional read.

    Send the links, or just describe what happened.

    The assessment is free and confidential. No obligation.

    WHYYou get a straight answer on what’s removable — within hours, not weeks.

    Start the free assessment

If there’s a demand for money

If you’re being threatened.

Don’t pay. Not once. Not “one last time.”

Payment confirms you’re reachable. The demands escalate.

Preserve the messages. Don’t delete the thread. Stop responding.

Threatening to post is a contravention under the Online Safety Act 2021. Don't pay — once it appears, the eSafety Commissioner can order it removed within 24 hours of serving a notice. When the content can’t stay up, the threat loses its leverage.

You can also report cyber extortion to ReportCyber at cyber.gov.au.

DO NOT PAY

This page is education, not legal advice. We are a removal agency, not a law firm; for advice on your specific situation, consult an attorney — or start with the free assessment and we'll tell you honestly what your case needs.

MANDATORY REFERRALMINORS — NEVER A COMMERCIAL CASE

If this involves someone under 18

We work with adults (18+) only. If intimate images of someone under 18 are involved, report it to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), led by the Australian Federal Police, at accce.gov.au/report; you can also report to the eSafety Commissioner at esafety.gov.au/report. Youth can call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. Do not send the content to anyone — including us.

After you reach out

What happens when you contact us.

  1. 01

    A small case team reads it — under a strict confidentiality agreement. No one else.

  2. 02

    You hear back within hours with a straight answer: what’s removable at the source, what can only be delisted from search, and what we’d decline rather than overpromise.

  3. 03

    Your content is never re-exposed in the process. Not to platforms. Not to anyone.

You’ve done enough reading for tonight.

Or start the written assessment

Free · Confidential · No obligation · Adults 18+

Aggregate outcomes across eligible cases; individual results vary per your written service agreement.

Prefer email? intake@aboutusagency.com