AUGUSTA, G.A. (WFXG) - PEOPLE AREN’T ALWAYS WHO THEY SAY THEY ARE, ESPECIALLY ONLINE. EVEN GAMING SITES OR SOCIAL MEDIA THAT FEEL SAFE TO YOUR KIDS CAN BE A DANGEROUS PLACE. iN THIS WEEK'S CYBER NEWS NOW, FBI ATLANTA SHARES HOW TO MONITOR AND PROTECT CHILDREN ONLINE.

IT’S CALLED SEXTORTION AND THE FBI SAYS IT’S HAPPENING MORE OFTEN THAN YOU THINK, ESPECIALLY THIS TIME OF YEAR. “AROUND THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS WHEN PARENTS GIVE KIDS DEVICES FOR THE FIRST TIME AND IF PARENTS DON’T HAVE OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION ABOUT APPROPRIATE USE OF INTERNET DEVICES, THeN A KID WHO’S 8 OR 9 YEARS OLD, THEir FIRST TIME GETTING a CELLPHONE they CAN BECOME A VICTIM VERY QUICKLY,” says FBI ATLANTA SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT KEITH KABREHL.

KABREHL SAYS although they seem to target boys more frequently, VICTIMS CAN BE MALE OR FEMALE. PREDATORS TARGET ON online GAMING SITES, VIDEO CHAT APPS AND POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA platforms. KIDS COMMUNICATE WITH WHAT THEY THINK IS ANOTHER CHILD. THROUGH DECEPTION, they ARE CONVINCED TO PRODUCE EXPLICIT VIDEOs OR PHOTOs. THE PREDATORS THEN THREATEN TO RELEASE THEM, UNLESS they send them money.

THE FBI REPORTS 3,000 MINOR VICTIMS TARGETED IN PAST YEAR and MORE THAN A DOZEN SUICIDES FROM THIS TYPE OF FINANCIAL SEXTORTION.

TO PREVENT MORE FROM BECOMING VICTIMS, KABRHEL ADVISES PARENT’S ESTABLISH AN OPEN LINE OF COMMUNICATION WITH their KIDs. “IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO USE THOSE DEVICES LET THEM SIT ON THE COUCH AND USE THEM NEXT TO YOU. IF THEY WANT TO DO SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN’T SIT ON THE COUCH NEXT TO YOU AND DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, THEN THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG.”

INSTEAD OF TAKING A CHILD’S DEVICE AWAY, CREATE RULES FOR THEM, SUCH AS NO USE IN THEIR BEDROOM OR BATHROOM. “PARENTS NEED TO TELL THEIR KIDS THAT THESE PEOPLE EXIST AND USE PLAIN LANGUAGE," he says. "DON’T TAKE NAKED PICTURES, DON’T TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR PRIVATE PARTS, THINGS THAT KIDS UNDERSTAND, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEIR 6, 7 OR 8 YEARS OLD.”

if you need TO REPORT THESE CRIMES, YOU CAN DO SO THrOUGH your local fbi field office, call 1-800-call-fbi or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is also a resource for victims.

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