Howard County Government: How To Prevent Sextortion

Elkridge MD

03 August, 2021

9:42 AM

Description

Press release from the Howard County Government: 08/2/2021 With the increased amount of time most children are spending online, Howard County police are reminding parents to monitor their children's activity. Police have been receiving multiple reports of "sextortion" involving minors—when a "new friend" convinces the child to provide explicit photos and then threatens to release them if the child doesn't pay a large sum of money through an online payment app. In one Howard County case, the child was only 9 years old. Warning signs of sextortion include anyone who invites a child or teen into a private chat or asks for photos or videos. Often, the offender is posing as another child or teen. Remind your child never to share pictures or videos, which will remain online forever if they are posted by another user. Parents should try to monitor their children's cell phone and online activity as closely as possible. If you suspect your child may have been targeted, call police at 410-313-2200. Remember, some apps store photos and videos in a way that makes them difficult for parents to find. Child predators use the internet as a convenient and anonymous way gain access to children when they think parents aren't looking, so it's important to be active in monitoring your child's use of the Internet and talk to them about how to stay safe. For more information and resources, contact The Listening Place: Howard County Child Advocacy Center at 410-313-2630. When you are online, has anyone you don't know ever tried to contact or talk to  you?  What did you do or what would you do if that happened?  Why do you think someone would want to reach a kid online?  You know, it's easy to pretend to be someone you are not online and not every person is a good person. Make sure you block or ignore anything that comes in from someone you do not know in real life.  Has anyone you know ever sent a picture of themselves that got passed around school or a team or club?  What is possible anytime you send someone a picture?  What if that picture were embarrassing?  Can you think about how someone could use that kind of picture against a person?    I read an article today about kids being pressured to send images and video of their bodies to a person they met online. Have you ever heard about anything like that?  Sometimes they were being threatened or harassed-- scary stuff.  You know if you are ever feeling like something is going on-- online or off-- that feels scary or wrong or over your head, my first concern is going to be helping you. You can always come to me.  This press release was produced by the Howard County Government. The views expressed here are the author's own.