Wisconsin Serving Victims of Crime
Outreach Services Director, Paula Schoenberg
Online gaming is one of the biggest ways a perpetrator is able to entice kids by texting, audio and/or real time video. Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) Task Force is in charge of a cybertipline.com (800-843-5678).
Fortnite had 125 million users in the first year because it's free to user and 1000 people can play in one room at a time. Individuals don't really know who is talking to them or grooming them into other enticements.
Snapchat is free to download with over seven billion videos and images a day. Children feel safer on Snapchat because you receive a notification when someone takes a screen shot, but there are ways around that. Snapchat can no longer legally claim images sent will disappear. The have a way now to detect skin tone on Snapchat if there is a high percentage of skin tone in a snap of an under age individual it is reported to the cyber tip line to be investigated. Youth are trying to bypass this system by creating an adult account.
KIK messenger top App for imagery you do not need a phone number all you need is WiFi. Young people are using old phones to be anonymous.
Imgur is 1 of the top 20 websites in the United States. 150 million users and it allows sharing and viewing from multiple platforms.
TikTok is popular with youth from the age of 11-14 and predators know how to groom that age group.
On Whisper, there are over 250 million monthly active users. This app is anonymous with no account set up necessary and promotes secrets. This app allows sex offenders to use GPS to locate local people within a 1/4 mile radius. The predator can ask youth questions about what they are wearing and if they ride the bus or walk to school.
MeetMe is another that is for more local users. You can see who is checking your profile out.
Omegle chat anonymously and randomly pairs you up to video chat. These images can be stored in the Cloud, on Dropbox and can be traded very easily.
Photo Vault users can create multiple private photo albums. It does need a password to be accessed. The app will notify a user when someone attempts to "break in" to their account and can take a picture of that person.
The Spy Calc app is a way youth are storing images of themselves so their parent/guardian do not notice explicit images on there phones. It looks like a calculator but it is a place to hide images. If there is more than one calculator on a youth's phone it could be false.
Predators are usually male, honest about being an adult and target more male than female victims. They are clear about their intentions and are attracted by certain behaviors.
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