Predators try to find out your personal information . I play volleyball too . What school do you play for ?
Predators most often will eventually ask for “ nudes ” or secrets that they will then turn around and use to control you .
I warn young people that if they ever see any of these grooming behaviors from someone online , they should tell their mom , dad , teacher , or youth pastor immediately . Even if they aren ’ t sure .
3 . The Sex Trafficker
Sex traffickers typically target runaways , foster kids , or kids with addictions . Kids who are questioning their sexual identity are also more at risk because they often feel safer going to online sources and are afraid to tell anyone at home . Traffickers might start grooming kids the same way Creepy Basement Guy does , but their goal is to “ sextort ” them or get them to meet somewhere .
Sextortion is blackmailing a kid to do something sexual .
For example , I met a nurse whose niece was a foster kid . This young girl met a guy online who claimed he was a teenager . The two grew close , and it wasn ’ t long before he asked for a nude photo . Once she sent a nude , everything changed . He threatened to send the photo to every one of her contacts , including her foster parents , unless she met with him . So she agreed . “ Just please don ’ t send that pic to anyone ,” she pleaded .
When she went to meet him , he wasn ’ t even the one who picked her up . She was trafficked to Vegas , where she was forced to prostitute herself for the weekend . The traffickers then used the video footage from those encounters to threaten her even more .
She was trafficked several times before she finally told her foster parents . The police removed her from that home , and the nurse I met adopted her .
Sextortion is a “ particularly damaging form of online abuse .” In 2016 , a Department of Justice report analyzed forty-three separate cases of sextortion . Two of the forty-three victims eventually committed suicide , and ten others attempted it . Let those numbers sink in . That ’ s more than one-fourth of the victims .
The initial contact between a teen and a sex trafficker almost always begins through a comment or DM on social media . Any friend or follower can typically DM your kid unsolicited unless you specifically go into the app and turn off direct messaging .
I spoke at a church where one of their high school girls was trafficked and eventually rescued . She responded to a “ modeling opportunity ” she received via Instagram . Her parents allowed her to go , but there was no agency at the address . She was abducted going into the building . Months later , someone happened to see her downtown , drugged out of her mind . Her youth worker , who was an adventure-sports
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