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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 publish is a federal crime under the TAKE IT DOWN Act — and the instant anything appears anywhere, it falls under the 48-hour federal removal window we file under every day. When the content can’t stay up, the threat loses its leverage.
You can also report extortion to the FBI at ic3.gov.
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.
If this involves someone under 18
We work with adults (18+) only. If intimate images of someone under 18 are involved, report it immediately to the NCMEC CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org, use NCMEC's Take It Down at takeitdown.ncmec.org, and contact local law enforcement. Do not send the content to anyone — including us.
After you reach out
What happens when you contact us.
- 01
A small case team reads it — under a strict confidentiality agreement. No one else.
- 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.
- 03
Your content is never re-exposed in the process. Not to platforms. Not to anyone.
You’ve done enough reading for tonight.
Free · Confidential · No obligation · Adults 18+
Aggregate outcomes across eligible cases; individual results vary per your written service agreement.
Prefer email? intake@aboutusagency.com
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06 — IntakeEND OF SECTION 05 — FIRST 24 HOURS · FORM 1 — CONFIDENTIAL INTAKE