The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a crackdown in partnership with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to combat growing sexual exploitation schemes targeting college athletes. These schemes increasingly involve the use of hacked private images and AI-generated doctored content to blackmail student-athletes.
Hackers can steal athletes' private images and then post or sell them, leading to sextortion. This can result in athletes facing harassment, stalking, or having stolen content disseminated on their own social media platforms. The use of artificial intelligence to create explicit content from athletes' images has also been reported as a method of exploitation. In many cases, these fabricated or stolen images are used to blackmail college stars into complying with demands to prevent their online release.
The FBI is investigating these exploitation tactics, which often begin with tactics like phishing, password and PIN targeting, or impersonation of social media customer service representatives. Shohini Sinha, assistant director of the FBI Victim Services Division, noted that the athletes' expanded online presence, particularly due to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) activities, increases both their exposure to targeting and the perceived leverage held by perpetrators.
"There is a pressure to protect the clean image of their school, team and themselves," Sinha stated.
While neither the FBI nor the NCAA has released specific numbers of athletes victimized by these sextortion plots, the NCAA is actively involved in raising awareness among student athletes. NCAA Vice President of Enforcement Jon Duncan affirmed the organization's commitment, stating, "If we can play even a small role in preventing these crimes or getting justice or appropriate support for the people impacted by them, we will do everything we can to help."
The NCAA is not participating in investigations but is focused on educating athletes about the threat of sexual exploitation. The organization will also provide counseling and support services for victimized athletes as part of an existing anti-harassment campaign. The NCAA will also serve as an informational liaison to the FBI, leveraging its established relationships with campus administrators and coaches to encourage athletes to come forward with information.
This initiative comes after a separate case in March 2025, where a former Michigan offensive coordinator, Matt Weiss, was charged by federal prosecutors with hacking and accused of stealing thousands of private images of student-athletes. Weiss has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
