FBI, NCAA Warn Hackers Are Targeting College Athletes’ Private Photos

The FBI and NCAA are addressing a wave of account-takeover incidents targeting college athletes in which criminals use phishing, support impersonation, password/PIN targeting, and credential-stuffing to steal private images for sextortion, harassment, or sale; a March 2025 indictment alleges one individual accessed thousands of accounts using data from university databases. The report emphasizes risk factors (high-profile athletes, password reuse), recommends MFA, unique passwords, password managers, phishing awareness, and preserving evidence and reporting to the FBI.