Online predators are individuals who commit child sexual abuse that begins or takes place on the Internet. They connect with children through conversations in chat rooms, instant messages, emails or discussion boards.
Online predators try to invest a lot of time, money and energy to lure their prey. They learn about the latest music and hobbies that may be of interest to children. They listen to and sympathize with the children's problems. They also try to introduce sexual content into the conversation or show children pornographic pictures or videos.
5 Signs That Your Children Are Being Targeted
1. After you enter their room, they quickly close the screen on the phone or end the conversation.
When children are doing something, they are not supposed to, they will react in surprise and quickly turn off the smartphone's screen as long as their parents are in sight. A teenager who constantly conceals certain things is likely to have an inappropriate relationship with someone. They know that their parents will disapprove.
2. Spending a lot of time on the smartphone alone
Teenagers like to use the Internet. In a recent survey, nearly a quarter of teenagers admitted to being almost always online. The fact that teenagers use the Internet frequently does not mean that child predators will contact them, but it does increase the likelihood that children will be exposed to inappropriate content.
3. Pornographic content is found on their phones.
It is estimated that 80-90% of teenagers inadvertently view pornographic content at some point. Many of these teenagers may become accustomed to watching pornographic videos, photos, or articles, and some may be addicted. Predators often use pornography to sexually victimize children. They provide pornographic content to engage in sexual discussions with potential victims.
4. Secondary or false email accounts.
Children who feel that they need privacy and need to hide something from their parents may be hiding their secrets. You should know the online accounts your children have created to see who they are connected to and see what’s happening to their profile.
5. Gifts and phone calls from unknown sources.
As a responsible parent, it's important to know who your children are chatting with and who sends flowers, cards or other gifts to your children. Online predators will baptize young people with their love to attract them.
Dangerous Apps used by Online Predators
To avoid being detected, the online predator will interact with the victims on anonymous messaging applications, text message or live streaming websites/applications. It is known that sexual predators interact with victims on the following platforms:
Talk to your Children about Online Predators
If your children are old enough to access the internet or have smartphones, part of the discussion should revolve around the consequences of online safety and dangerous behavior. Here are some key points:
- Show your children a news story about a predator who meets a child through the social media or gaming platform your children use.
- Remind your children not to share personally identifiable information or talk to someone they don’t know in real life.
- Discuss the stages of grooming so that they can identify such behavior in the future.
- Frankly talk about what happens when they become victims and remind them that if they find themselves in danger, they should always seek help from trusted people.
What to Do If Your Children Are Being Targeted?
If your children become victims of online predators, you must be very careful. Although your emotions may range from anger to sadness, try to stay calm while talking to your children. Whether they are directly informing you about this situation or you discover it yourself, you should:
- If your children receive an explicit sexual image from an online predator, or if they are sexually interested, block the predators directly.
- Check your children's phones to see if there are porn files or any form of sexual communication. Save or take screenshots of messages (do not delete them).
- Report the predators on any platform where they are engaged with your children.
- Monitor your children's access to all real-time electronic communications, such as instant messages and emails.
How iKeyMonitor Helps In Dealing with Online Predators?
iKeyMonitor is a powerful monitoring tool that helps you ensure your children's safety online. It detects signs of online predators, as well as cyberbullying, suicidal thoughts, threats of violence, etc. It also reminds you when your children are at risk. It enables you to spy on SMS text messages, call history, GPS locations, keystrokes, screenshots and chat messages on multiple chat apps such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, Kik and more.
Monitor chat messages
- Sex predators will first check social media posts and public chats online to learn about children, so you need to keep track of social media platforms such as Facebook, Kik, TikTok, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram and more. With iKeyMonitor, you can view your children’s chat conversations and protect them from online predators.
Call history logs and call recording
- iKeyMonitor monitors call history and call recordings, giving you detailed information on incoming and outgoing calls. You can check who contacted your children most frequently and listen to the calls recorded to protect them from dangerous people.
Monitor pictures and photos
- iKeyMonitor allows you to view all the images sent, received, and saved on your children's device. So, if necessary, you can check if there are pornographic pictures on your children’s phones and take measures to prevent the situation from getting worse.
Take screenshots
- With this feature, you can take screenshots of the online activities on your children's phones. iKeyMonitor captures screenshots on a regular basis and when dangerous words are detected. Therefore, you can find out what activities your children have done on the devices and whether they need your guidance and help.
GPS tracking
- Child predators will entice children to meet and then sexually abuse them. iKeyMonitor tracks the route history over a specific interval of time. With iKeyMonitor, you can track your children's movements and whereabouts for the purpose of protecting them from dangers.
Get alerted about dangerous activities
- With iKeyMonitor, you can be alerted when your children are performing dangerous activities online. It gives you an insight into your children’s online activities so that you can act if something inappropriate occurs.