Table 1 : CSAM / CSE / CST typologies and red flags
Scenario Description Red flags ( examples ) Live online CSE
Traveling to offend
Sextortion
Domestic self-production
An offender is a consumer of live online CSE content — an individual who funds and accesses online sexual content involving minors , driven by personal sexual gratification
Traveling CSE offenders are individuals who venture overseas with the specific intent to sexually abuse children
Sextortion offenders are criminals who coerce children online into sending sexually explicit content of themselves . The offenders then blackmail victims for money under the threat of exposing the content
Domestic self-production offenders use online platforms to groom children and then exploit them into selfproduction of sexually explicit content in exchange for gifts or money
• Payment references sent to ( or within ) high-risk CSE country
• Payments to VPN and / or privacy software providers
• Frequent low-value payments to high-risk CSE country
• Purchases at live online chat rooms , online gaming platforms
• Online access from high-risk CSE country
• Payments for travel / accommodations in high-risk CSE country
• Purchase of a mobile phone / SIM card / payphone card in high-risk CSE country
• Purchases at children ’ s stores or venues
• Activity related to virtual currency and mixers
• Payments for spyware / video / image capture software
• Purchases at live online chat rooms , online gaming platforms
• Receiving frequent low-value payments
• Activity related to virtual currency and mixers
• Low-value domestic payments to unrelated minors or selfproduction-related payment references
• Payments for spyware / video / image capture software
• Purchases at live online chat rooms , online gaming platforms , adult entertainment and / or dating platforms
It is important that FIs consider the overlap between the types of CSAM / CSE offenders . For example , U . S . -based offenders who pay to watch live CSE often also receive CSAM from facilitators and victims , almost always in exchange for money . These offenders may additionally independently seek and view other CSAM content online . Livestreams are sometimes recorded by offenders for personal use and distribution . The data suggests a risk that U . S . -based CSE livestreaming offenders may travel to highrisk countries to physically abuse children they have viewed over a livestream or those to whom they have been provided access .
Live online CSE typology
Live online CSE ( e . g ., webcam sex tourism and cybersex trafficking ) represents a unique category of CSE / CSAM offenses , characterized by livestreaming of child sexual abuse to offenders , often broadcast across national borders via the internet . This crime is facilitated by technology , has elements of commercialization ( i . e ., financed through online transactions ), and is broadly recognized as CST as it involves the intersection of sexual exploitation and financial gain .
The U . K . National Crime Agency ( NCA ), Child Exploitation and Online Protection ( CEOP ) stated , “ The use of webcams to stream live abuse , particularly from the developing world , is a significant and emerging threat , according to the NCA ’ s CEOP command . Extreme poverty , the increasing availability of high speed Internet and the existence of a vast and comparatively wealthy overseas customer base has led to organized crime groups exploiting children for financial gain .” 7
How is live CSE facilitated ?
Offenders involved in live online CSE may play a passive role by “ paying to watch ,” or they may take an active role by communicating with a facilitator to request specific actions from the child , a process referred to as “ CSE to order .” Given that such crimes are often accompanied by financial transactions , analyzing these transactions is a vital tool for detecting and understanding the offense .
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