The FBI has warned that cybercriminals are targeting the social media accounts of adults and children to steal intimate images and videos.

According to the alert, the perpetrators primarily use social engineering tactics to gain access to victims’ accounts and obtain the content. Victims are then often threatened with the release of the stolen material or have it published online without their consent.

“Victims often face re-victimization through harassment, sextortion, stalking or other targeted attacks, such as advertising stolen content on a victim’s own social media page,” the FBI wrote.

The FBI said cybercriminals use several tactics to gain access to victims’ social media accounts, including trying leaked or previously used passwords, impersonating customer service representatives from Instagram and other platforms, and contacting users under the guise of helping them recover their accounts.

The advisory also warned about phishing emails that direct victims to fake domains designed to resemble legitimate social media login pages.

To protect against such attacks, the FBI recommends using unique passwords stored in a password manager and enabling multi-factor authentication.

Users should also be wary of unsolicited messages from people claiming to represent social media companies, noting that technology firms generally do not contact customers in this manner.

The agency further advised people to avoid storing sensitive or intimate images in online accounts.