During the game,another gamer offered your child help/ a free item while having a conversation that included the mention of drugs.
Recommendations for kids (6-14)
Grooming happens when an older gamer befriends a younger gamer and offers them incentives like tokens or upgrades. The younger gamers trusts the older one and feels indebted and controlled them. This person becomes their exploiter. Criminals have been using video games to lure children into drug trafficking.
Drugs criminals have been grooming minors with the help of microtransactions, buying them in-game currency and skins to earn their trust. After buying their trust with gifts in video games, groomers will begin to persuade children to carry out crimes, starting with ‘low level’ crimes, and progressing to more serious ones. With more children playing online games and chatting with friends and strangers, the numbers of those at risk of exploitation are far greater.
How to keep your children safe online
Young people have a lot going on in their lives. Changes in behavior could be any number of things. However, there are certain changes that could be signs of online grooming and exploitation:
- Talking about older or new friends they’ve met online
- Talking about gifts or money they have received online
- Becoming withdrawn and secretive
- Owning a new phone or more than one phone
- Receiving a large number of calls or messages
- Worried about being away from their phone
Look out for things that don’t seem right – if they don’t feel right, they’re probably not.
Next Steps:
- Show your child that they can trust you and don’t judge them.
- Take an interest in their online friends as much as you would their offline friends.
- Report online exploitation to the police and keep records of the online conversations.
- You can also report Illegal drug trafficking by submitting a tip online or calling your local DEA office
- Report criminals posing as DEA Special Agents, illegal sales/distribution of drugs; suspicious online pharmacies and other drug-distribution-related crimes
877-RxAbuse (877-792-2873)
Recommendations written by Kidas Experts.