The crime involves threats to share sexual content or information unless the victim pays money or complies with other demands.
Police say fraudsters then manipulate the images using AI to create explicit content.
A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: “Anyone can be a victim of sextortion, and sadly, our teams have seen an increase in cases of sextortion, where fraudsters are convincing their victims to innocently send ordinary images of themselves via private message, having gained their trust over dating apps.
“Fraudsters then manipulate the images using AI to create explicit content of their victims.
“If you are a victim of sextortion, or worried you are being targeted, it’s never your fault. You are not to blame and have done nothing wrong”.
They also explained that while it can be difficult to report this sort of crime, there is help available.
The spokesperson said: “We understand that it might be difficult to report this type of crime to us, but there’s help available and we’re here to listen and support victims in any way we can”.
