How predators are luring kids with ads in games, apps
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Games or apps marketed to kids may hold a portal to the dark web.
Even though the apps may be rated G, the ads don’t have to be.
Law enforcement says it’s a way for predators to lure children into their trap in plain sight.
We followed one app and the game looked pretty innocent. You’re building a hotel, on an app targeted for kids. Now we did have to blur out what comes after because before you know it adults are on your child’s screen doing inappropriate things.
Things law enforcement says are a gateway.
She doesn’t want to show her face, but this mom, like a lot of moms, says she allows some screen time after a long day of school.
“When my son gets home from school, usually after learning all day, he wants to kind of decompress and play on his tablet for a little bit. That’s his ‘Me time,’” she said.
She does her best to keep both of her kids out of harm’s way when it comes to playing online.
“You see these programs for kids. His tablet has a whole kids interface that he cannot get out of without having a code. You want to think that that would be safe,” said the mom.
Reality is, it’s not.
Law enforcement says the ads on children’s apps are the gateway to the darker side of the internet.
Chief Jamey Kitchens with Grovetown Police Department said: “You will start seeing these ads get snuck in that seem on the level or on the surface, rather, saying that they’re harmless.”
Ads for adult apps like “My Fantasy” starts out like a story where you have a choice to pick how the story ends.
Kitchens says within three clicks, it’s a different world.
“They’re smart. They’re gonna appeal to what’s going to draw a child in. Very easily you start down that rabbit hole, no longer are they dealing with an app now, they’re dealing with a live person on the other end. They’re dealing with someone that is chatting with them,” said Kitchens.
He said they are finding criminals on Omegle, Chatroulette, Chat Random, Lemon 8, and more.
“The number of people on these apps and the number of people on various websites that are looking to engage children in sex trafficking, sex meetups, whatever the case may be. It’s overwhelming,” said Kitchens.
There is no way to stop it.
“You can put the brakes on it. You can do whatever you want to. They’ll backdoor it through a seemingly harmless app. They’ll backdoor through the ads on that,” said Kitchens.
The bottom line is if it’s a game or an app that allows ads, your child has a chance of being exposed.
Parents are asking how to be proactive and Kitchens says you have to have hard conversations and check their phones.
While they are battling this growing issue on the front lines, the best thing you can do is to take action when you see something. Ways to do that are by sending in tips that go straight to authorities.
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