The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) wants families to be aware of potential online threats that are targeting kids between the ages of 8 to 17 years old. There are violent online groups using social media and public messaging platforms to target kids into engaging in self-harm, sexually explicit acts, suicide or harming others. The goal is to extort videos or live streaming of kids engaging in these acts so the video can be uploaded for others to watch. AI has been effectively used to create images and videos used to extort kids into creating additional content.
The FBI recommends families consider the following recommendations when using online information sharing sites:
· Monitor children's online activity and discuss risks associated with sharing personal content.
· Use discretion when posting images, videos, and personal content online, particularly those that include children or their information. Images, videos, or personal information posted online can be captured, manipulated, and distributed by malicious actors without your knowledge or consent. Once content is shared on the internet, it can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to remove once it is circulated or posted by other parties.
· Run frequent online searches of you and your children's information (e.g., full name, address, phone number, etc.) to help identify the exposure and spread of personal information on the internet.
· Apply privacy settings on social media accounts—including setting profiles and your friends' lists as private—to limit the public exposure of your photos, videos, and other personal information.
· Consider using reverse image search engines to locate any photos or videos that have circulated on the internet without your knowledge.
· Exercise caution when accepting friend requests, communicating, engaging in video conversations, or sending images to individuals, you do not know personally. Be especially wary of individuals who immediately ask or pressure you to provide them photos or videos. Those items could be screen-captured, recorded, manipulated, shared without your knowledge or consent, and used to exploit you or someone you know.
· Do not provide any unknown or unfamiliar individuals with money or other items of value. Complying with malicious actors does not guarantee your sensitive photos or content will not be shared.
· Use discretion when interacting with known individuals online who appear to be acting outside their normal pattern of behavior. Malicious actors can easily manipulate hacked social media accounts.
· Secure social media and other online accounts using complex passwords or passphrases and multi-factor authentication.
· Research the privacy, data sharing, and data retention policies of social media platforms, apps, and websites before uploading and sharing images, videos, or other personal content.
If you become aware of an image or video that has been sent the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides a free service known as Take It Down, which helps minor victims, even if they are now an adult, but were victimized as a minor, with online image or video files, remove or stop the online sharing of nude, or sexually explicit content taken while under 18 years old. For more information, visit https://takeitdown.ncmec.org.
If you believe you are the victim of a crime using these types of tactics, retain all information regarding the incident (e.g., usernames, email addresses, websites or names of platforms used for communication, photos, videos, etc.) and immediately report it to:
· FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov
· FBI Field Office [www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices or 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324)]
· National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1-800-THE LOST or www.cybertipline.org)
Reporting these crimes can help law enforcement identify malicious actors and prevent further victimization.
