Gardaí say anyone who is the victim of a sextortion scam should report it and never pay a ransom.
It comes after one Galway school posted a warning on their Facebook page about such scams.
Sergeant Michael Walsh told Newstalk Breakfast this came to light last week.
"A school has put something on their Facebook page, advising parents to be careful of it.
"By all accounts there has been no incidents of it in that particular school.
"This originated from Internet Safety Week, and maybe a little bit blown out of proportion.
"I am not aware of too many of these cases but... it's good to be aware of this kind of thing and what can happen".
Sextortion involves the use of an intimate image of one party by another, who threatens to post or share it with others online unless the person involved pays a ransom.
Sergeant Walsh says: "What we're saying to people is just to be aware of that: something that goes on the internet is going to be there forever.
"So be careful about what young people post now, but also be careful about any images that you share with somebody now".
He says this can even include editing existing photos.
"What I'm hearing about this one it's more where scammers, as such, are maybe getting into your social media page, taking down a photograph, and maybe editing that photograph to make it look something more than what it was.
"And sending that to you then saying: 'We found this photograph of you, I'm going to share it unless you pay the ransom'".
He says people in any such position should contact Gardaí.
"For anybody that might find themselves in this position, the first thing to do would be to contact An Garda Síochána.
"We have dedicated cybercrime units now who deal with a lot of this type of crime - so that should be your first port of call.
"The next advice I give to anybody is do not pay a ransom.
"Don't fall for that, because once you pay once they will continuously harass you and look for more and more money.
"Stop engaging with these people, don't text back, don't communicate back to them - report to it the Gardaí.
"Document whatever has been sent to you, screenshot it wherever it might be.
"You're probably familiar with Coco's Law, which was enacted last year, and that has created specific offences for this type of crime".
Someone who shares a non-consensual intimate image of someone else could face seven years in prison.
