NCAA and FBI to partner up to help athletes avoid being sexually exploited online
CNN • • sports
Key Points:
- The NCAA is partnering with the FBI to educate college athletes on preventing and responding to online sexual exploitation, addressing a rise in "sextortion" cases involving stolen intimate images.
- The FBI receives over 3,000 daily tips about cyber sexual exploitation victims and identifies college athletes as a particularly vulnerable group due to their social media presence and NIL activities.
- Criminal actors typically obtain compromising images through hacking, phishing, or coercion, then use them to blackmail victims or sell the content, with an estimated $44 million spent in 2025 alone to prevent such exploitation.
- The collaboration aims to raise awareness, provide education, and connect victims with resources like FBI victim advocates and organizations such as the National Center for Victims of Internet and Cyber Exploitation.
- This initiative follows a high-profile case involving a former Michigan football staffer accused of hacking over 3,000 athlete images, highlighting the ease and severity of these crimes.
