Gardaí are warning parents of a new "sextortion" scam which is targeting secondary school students.
Sextortion is when a cyber-criminal lures an individual into sharing an explicit image with them.
The cyber-criminal then threatens to post it online, unless they pay a certain amount of money.
Speaking about the scam to Newstalk, Garda crime prevention officer Michael Walsh said once a person pays once, they will be continuously harassed for more money.
"For anybody who might find themselves in this position, the first thing to do would be to contact An Garda Síochána," he explained.
"We have dedicated cybercrime units now who deal with a lot of this type of crime or any type of fraud or scams.
"So that should be your first port of call.
"The next advice I'd give to anybody is do not pay a ransom.
"Its down that slippy slope of where do I stop? And if you take the bait once you are going to be targeted again.
"Don't pay the ransom, stop engaging with these people, don't text back, don't communicate back to them, report it to the Gardaí."
Sharing a non-consensual intimate image of someone else can lead to seven years imprisonment.
