Online predators and Social Media by Giana Santoro

Who might be targeted.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 11:56:43 UTC

How they can gain access.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 11:58:33 UTC

250 potential victims recruited on Facebook,

• 120 recruited on a dating site,

• 78 recruited on Instagram,

• 489 recruited on another type of Internet platform such as Craigslist, chat rooms, or a website

that could not be identified during the hotline call.

online dating or "boyfriending"

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:00:12 UTC

how to spot online predators

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:02:56 UTC

Traffickers don’t find their victims on social media by accident.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:06:17 UTC

They know what they’re doing. They target young people who they believe are vulnerable and could easily be groomed and victimized. Traffickers look for posts that indicate low self-esteem, loneliness or unstable home situations. Then they make their move, empathizing and building trust. Look out for people on social media who seem to know a lot about you or know just the right things to say.

They’re professional frauds.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:07:36 UTC

These predators sometimes create fake social media accounts so they can portray themselves as friendly and trustworthy. Organized groups even set up fake accounts to pose as employment agencies so they can post bogus job opportunities. And traffickers are out there in the online dating world too, they pretend to be looking for a date in order to start a conversation with new potential victims. Be aware if someone’s profile looks suspicious or if what they’re offering seems too good to be true.

It’s all about control.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:08:24 UTC

They sometimes impersonate their victims online, so they can start rumors or share intimate pictures to ruin their reputations. It’s all a means of control, because the more isolated someone is, the more vulnerable they are. Keep an eye out if someone seems to be behaving differently on social media.

Source for this part.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:16:48 UTC

https://www.planusa.org/blog/3-ways-to-spot-a-trafficker-on-social-media/

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:21:08 UTC

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:26:06 UTC

at the end gives some ways they make bonds with people and how it works.

Fake Jobs

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:33:24 UTC

Some individual sex traffickers will recruit

victims through an illegitimate job offer for modeling or dancing, sometimes facilitated through fake business profiles, event pages on Facebook, or on Craigslist. Traffickers may also contact the potential

victim directly, claiming to be a recruiter for a modeling agency or the owner of another kind of legitimate business seeking staff. Often these interactions also include some elements of building trust and a relationship online before the actual job offer is made.

Example of what the listing for the job may look like

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:35:30 UTC

Source for this part.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:38:08 UTC

“Human Trafficking and Social Media - Polaris”

(https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking-and-social-media/)

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:39:55 UTC

Online recruitment may begin with commenting on potential victims’ photos and sending direct messages, carefully building the rapport and intimacy needed

to entice victims into a false sense of trust. The next phase is often “boyfriending”, manipulations such as feigned romantic interests, extreme flattery, promises

of gifts or other financial assistance, assurance that they, and they alone can care for the potential victim, or even perceived salvation from domestic violence or child sexual abuse.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:43:52 UTC

The online relationship will generally

culminate with the trafficker purchasing travel tickets for the potential victim in order to finally unite face-to-face.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:47:07 UTC

Victims use these apps for their intended purpose, to seek out a potential romantic partner. But some vulnerable youth, struggling with issues such as homelessness, previous victimization, or alcohol and/or substance use, also use the apps to seek out someone with the means to provide them with what they need to survive. As with any commercial sex situation, survival sex exists on a spectrum. It can be voluntary (with adults 18+), involve some exploitative conditions, or constitute sex trafficking in the form of personal sexual servitude if the exploiter begins to coerce the victim (often a minor)

with money, drugs, transportation, shelter, food, gifts, etc. all while typically employing elements of control over his or her day-to-day life.

Source for this part.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:48:15 UTC

“Human Trafficking and Social Media - Polaris”

(https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking-and-social-media/)

some examples to explain to younger kids on what to look out for and not do.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:51:35 UTC

-Teach them not to click on pop-ups.

Explain that they should never share passwords, addresses or personal information with people they don’t know online.

-Create a series of steps they should follow if they see inappropriate content, such as looking away and telling a parent or trusted adult.

-Warn them not to trust people they meet online, and tell them they should tell a trusted adult if someone makes them feel nervous, scared or uncomfortable.

-Teach online etiquette and how to be respectful of others, and let them know they should tell someone if they feel disrespected.

-Help them identify a trusted adult or guardian they can go to for help.

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:56:19 UTC

The groomer may blackmail the child by threatening to release the private photos or videos and share them with the child’s friends or family.

Sources for this part

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:58:19 UTC

https://www.dhs.gov/know2protect/take-action (“Take Action”)
https://childsafety.losangelescriminallawyer.pro/children-and-grooming-online-predators.html (Kraut)

gianasantoro — 2025-06-11 12:59:39 UTC

Online predators often use a process called grooming to build relationships with teens in order to exploit them. This process can involve:

-Building trust and rapport through shared interests.

-Isolating the teen from friends and family.

-Exploiting vulnerabilities like low self-esteem.

-Gradually testing boundaries with increasingly inappropriate content or requests.