Yes, blackmail is illegal in the United States. It’s a crime under federal law and in all 50 states. The core federal blackmail statute carries up to one year in prison, and related extortion charges can bring sentences of up to 20 years, depending on the nature of the threat and whether it crossed state lines.
What Counts as Blackmail
Blackmail is the use of a threat to reveal damaging information to pressure someone into handing over money, property, or some other benefit. The information might concern private relationships, finances, or past conduct. Whether the information is true or false doesn’t matter. The crime is in weaponizing it.
A charge generally requires three things: a threat, usually to expose embarrassing or incriminating information; a demand tied to that threat; and the intent to coerce the victim into complying. The threat and the demand have to work together. Gossip alone isn’t blackmail. Asking for money without a threat isn’t blackmail. The offense crystallizes when the two connect.
One detail surprises people. Under the federal blackmail statute, a person who “demands or receives” money or anything of value under threat of reporting a legal violation has already committed the crime.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 873 – Blackmail The victim doesn’t have to pay. Under the Hobbs Act, even an attempt or conspiracy to extort is enough to prosecute.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1951 – Interference With Commerce by Threats or Violence
Blackmail and Extortion Are Not the Same
People use the words interchangeably, but the law treats them differently. Extortion is the broader category. It covers any situation where someone uses threats or coercion to obtain money, property, or action from another person, whether the threat involves violence, property damage, abuse of official power, or economic harm.
Blackmail is a specific type of extortion that centers on threatening to expose information. Threatening to break your windows unless you pay is extortion. Threatening to publish your private emails unless you pay is blackmail. Some states treat blackmail as a subset of their extortion statute, while others define it as a standalone offense. The type of threat determines which law applies and what penalties follow.
Federal Laws That Apply
Several federal statutes reach blackmail-type conduct. Which one prosecutors use depends on the nature of the threat, how it was communicated, and whether interstate commerce was involved.
18 U.S.C. § 873 — Blackmail
This is the only federal statute that uses the word “blackmail.” It’s narrower than most people expect. It covers demanding or accepting money or anything of value in exchange for not reporting someone’s violation of federal law. The maximum penalty is one year in prison, a fine, or both.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 873 – Blackmail Because the ceiling is one year, this offense is a misdemeanor, which surprises readers who assume all blackmail charges are felonies.
18 U.S.C. § 875 — Interstate Threats
When a blackmail message crosses state lines, whether by phone call, email, text, or social media, this statute applies. It has graduated penalties:
- Threats to injure reputation or accuse someone of a crime, with intent to extort: up to two years in prison.
- Threats of physical harm without extortion intent: up to five years.
- Threats of kidnapping or physical injury with intent to extort: up to twenty years.
Because most digital blackmail involves messages crossing state lines, this is the statute federal prosecutors most often reach for in modern cases.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
18 U.S.C. § 1951 — The Hobbs Act
The Hobbs Act prohibits extortion that affects interstate or foreign commerce in any way, and courts have read “affects commerce” broadly. The statute defines extortion as obtaining property from someone through “wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.” A conviction carries up to 20 years in prison.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1951 – Interference With Commerce by Threats or Violence Prosecutors use it when the scheme involves large sums, organized activity, or public officials.
Federal Fines
Fines come from 18 U.S.C. § 3571 rather than from the individual criminal statutes. For a misdemeanor like the core blackmail offense, the maximum fine is $100,000. For felony charges, including Hobbs Act extortion and the more serious subsections of § 875, the maximum climbs to $250,000.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine A court can also impose an alternative fine of up to twice the defendant’s gain or twice the victim’s loss, whichever is greater. On top of fines, judges can order restitution directly to the victim for financial losses the blackmail caused.
State Laws
Every state criminalizes blackmail-type conduct, though the labels differ. Some states have standalone blackmail statutes. More often, states prosecute the same behavior under extortion, criminal coercion, or criminal threats laws. Definitions and penalties vary, but the core conduct, using a threat to compel someone to hand over money or take action, is illegal everywhere.
Most states classify extortion or blackmail as a felony, with prison sentences that can run several years. Maximum fines at the state level generally range from $10,000 to $25,000, depending on the state and how the offense is graded.
Sextortion and Online Blackmail
Sextortion, threatening to distribute someone’s intimate images unless they pay money or send more images, has become one of the fastest-growing forms of blackmail. It targets adults and minors, often through social media or dating platforms. The conduct falls squarely under the federal statutes above, especially § 875 when the messages cross state lines.
Minors face disproportionate risk. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children operates the CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org for suspected child sexual exploitation, including sextortion. NCMEC also runs Take It Down, which helps victims get explicit images removed from the internet.5MissingKids.org. Sextortion Its 24-hour call center is 1-800-843-5678.
For adult victims, the same federal statutes apply. The practical advice is the same across age groups: don’t pay. Blackmailers who succeed once almost always come back for more.
How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges
Federal prosecutors generally have five years from the date of the offense to bring blackmail or extortion charges. That window comes from 18 U.S.C. § 3282, which sets a five-year limit for all non-capital federal offenses unless another statute specifies otherwise.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3282 – Offenses Not Capital No separate limitations period exists for the federal blackmail and extortion statutes, so the general five-year rule applies.
State deadlines vary. For felony-level extortion, most states set the limitations period somewhere between three and seven years. Reporting sooner gives investigators more room to build a case.
If Someone Is Blackmailing You
The urge to handle it quietly is understandable, and it tends to make things worse. A few steps actually help.
Don’t pay or comply. Compliance rarely ends the threat. The blackmailer now knows you’ll pay, and the demand usually grows.
Save every piece of evidence. Screenshots of messages, emails, voicemails, and social media posts all matter. Don’t delete anything, even content you find embarrassing. Investigators need the original communications, and a screenshot captured before a message disappears can decide a case.
Report it. For blackmail involving interstate communications, file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.7Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Home Page – Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3 forwards reports to FBI field offices and other partners. If you’re in immediate danger, call 911. For blackmail that stays within one state, contact local police. Sextortion involving a minor should also go to NCMEC’s CyberTipline, which routes reports to the appropriate agency.5MissingKids.org. Sextortion Talking with a criminal defense attorney or a victims’ rights attorney early on can help you understand your options as the investigation moves forward.