1 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,460 North Texas police detective Brandon Poor 2 00:00:11,919 --> 00:00:14,554 is a big, burly man with a beard 3 00:00:14,554 --> 00:00:15,695 and a bald head, 4 00:00:16,234 --> 00:00:19,054 an imposing figure with an even more daunting 5 00:00:19,195 --> 00:00:19,695 task. 6 00:00:20,554 --> 00:00:23,754 He poses as teenage boys and girls on 7 00:00:23,754 --> 00:00:25,774 social media platforms like 8 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:27,780 Snapchat and Instagram, 9 00:00:28,399 --> 00:00:31,039 as well as in online gaming communities to 10 00:00:31,039 --> 00:00:32,739 catch online predators. 11 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:34,880 I always say I'm the ugliest 12 year 12 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:35,619 old online. 13 00:00:36,239 --> 00:00:38,880 We've been everything. We've been 12 13 year 14 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:41,119 old boys. We've been girls. I've been a 15 00:00:41,119 --> 00:00:42,534 mom. I've been a dad. 16 00:00:42,914 --> 00:00:45,255 Along with his partner, they call themselves 17 00:00:45,715 --> 00:00:46,454 the Catfish 18 00:00:46,914 --> 00:00:47,414 Cops. 19 00:00:48,274 --> 00:00:51,414 Their mission, to reel in predators through carefully 20 00:00:51,475 --> 00:00:53,174 crafted decoy profiles, 21 00:00:54,399 --> 00:00:57,679 exposing the perpetrators of a rapidly growing and 22 00:00:57,679 --> 00:00:58,179 devastating 23 00:00:58,480 --> 00:00:59,940 crime wave known as 24 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:00,820 sextortion. 25 00:01:12,635 --> 00:01:13,775 So sextortion 26 00:01:15,194 --> 00:01:16,875 is a word that we use when we 27 00:01:16,875 --> 00:01:19,295 talk about what happens is the predator, 28 00:01:19,755 --> 00:01:21,775 sometimes posing as someone else, 29 00:01:22,075 --> 00:01:24,234 gets a nude image or video of the 30 00:01:24,234 --> 00:01:27,140 child, And then they use that to blackmail 31 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,700 the child for some objective. 32 00:01:30,079 --> 00:01:32,640 I first met detective Brandon Poor at an 33 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:33,140 InfraGard 34 00:01:33,439 --> 00:01:35,700 conference on emerging cyber threats. 35 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,474 InfraGard is a partnership between the FBI and 36 00:01:39,474 --> 00:01:41,974 the private sector to safeguard America's 37 00:01:42,275 --> 00:01:43,494 critical infrastructure. 38 00:01:44,435 --> 00:01:46,275 And for the record, I was invited to 39 00:01:46,275 --> 00:01:48,055 join InfraGard after 911 40 00:01:48,754 --> 00:01:49,894 following my investigative 41 00:01:50,194 --> 00:01:53,174 reports on terrorism and the war in Iraq. 42 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,239 Like all members, I underwent a security background 43 00:01:57,239 --> 00:01:59,819 check, which I was familiar with from receiving 44 00:01:59,879 --> 00:02:01,979 a top secret security clearance 45 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,579 as a congressional investigator before becoming a journalist. 46 00:02:06,545 --> 00:02:07,844 Of all the presentations 47 00:02:08,145 --> 00:02:08,884 that day, 48 00:02:09,264 --> 00:02:11,284 detective Poor's about financially 49 00:02:11,664 --> 00:02:12,805 motivated sextortion 50 00:02:13,664 --> 00:02:15,284 left the deepest impression. 51 00:02:16,384 --> 00:02:17,925 His insights on sextortion, 52 00:02:18,384 --> 00:02:20,324 a crime that preys on children, 53 00:02:20,939 --> 00:02:23,819 made my eyes widen with concern for every 54 00:02:23,819 --> 00:02:26,319 child navigating the online world. 55 00:02:27,180 --> 00:02:29,739 According to the FBI, the victims are typically 56 00:02:29,739 --> 00:02:32,560 males between ages 14 to 17, 57 00:02:33,180 --> 00:02:35,120 but any child can become a victim. 58 00:02:35,835 --> 00:02:36,574 Since 2021, 59 00:02:37,435 --> 00:02:38,574 there's been a 60 00:02:39,034 --> 00:02:39,534 323% 61 00:02:40,555 --> 00:02:41,055 increase 62 00:02:41,594 --> 00:02:43,854 in financially motivated sextortion. 63 00:02:45,034 --> 00:02:46,955 And what that looks like is these organized 64 00:02:46,955 --> 00:02:47,775 crime groups 65 00:02:48,090 --> 00:02:50,430 in other countries, a lot of times, Nigeria, 66 00:02:50,490 --> 00:02:52,730 the Ivory Coast, Philippines, but there are some 67 00:02:52,730 --> 00:02:54,330 US based as well. And what they do 68 00:02:54,330 --> 00:02:55,870 is they will pose 69 00:02:56,330 --> 00:02:58,810 as maybe a female, 16 year old. They 70 00:02:58,810 --> 00:03:00,030 will contact, 71 00:03:00,490 --> 00:03:03,134 maybe a 14, 15, 16 year old boy, 72 00:03:03,215 --> 00:03:05,375 and they will say, let's trade a nude 73 00:03:05,375 --> 00:03:05,875 picture. 74 00:03:06,334 --> 00:03:08,174 And they will have a nude picture that 75 00:03:08,174 --> 00:03:09,775 they send to the boy, and then the 76 00:03:09,775 --> 00:03:12,174 boy sends something, and then they strike. And 77 00:03:12,174 --> 00:03:13,155 the strike is, 78 00:03:13,694 --> 00:03:14,914 you if you don't 79 00:03:15,389 --> 00:03:17,090 send me some sort of financial, 80 00:03:18,110 --> 00:03:19,789 whatever it is, if it's, you know, a 81 00:03:19,789 --> 00:03:22,769 gift card or some sort of game reward 82 00:03:22,829 --> 00:03:25,310 or if it's Cash App or Venmo or 83 00:03:25,310 --> 00:03:27,169 something like that, if you don't send me 84 00:03:27,469 --> 00:03:27,969 money, 85 00:03:28,344 --> 00:03:30,104 then I'm gonna release this to your family, 86 00:03:30,104 --> 00:03:32,504 your friends, your school, and embarrass you, and 87 00:03:32,504 --> 00:03:33,465 you're they're gonna see 88 00:03:34,264 --> 00:03:36,584 and all of this stuff about you. And 89 00:03:36,584 --> 00:03:38,584 so we've seen kids panic. They try and 90 00:03:38,584 --> 00:03:41,459 handle it themselves. They're embarrassed. They're scared. They 91 00:03:41,459 --> 00:03:43,620 don't want it released. And then we've seen, 92 00:03:43,620 --> 00:03:45,620 you know, just the worst of the worst 93 00:03:45,620 --> 00:03:46,919 is we've seen kids 94 00:03:47,299 --> 00:03:49,699 commit suicide just from the shame of it 95 00:03:49,699 --> 00:03:51,479 and and not knowing what to do. 96 00:03:52,099 --> 00:03:53,080 In 2024, 97 00:03:54,025 --> 00:03:57,064 the FBI arrested 4 Delaware men on federal 98 00:03:57,064 --> 00:03:59,004 charges in connection with an alleged 99 00:03:59,544 --> 00:04:00,044 international 100 00:04:00,344 --> 00:04:00,844 sextortion 101 00:04:01,145 --> 00:04:01,645 scheme. 102 00:04:02,344 --> 00:04:05,305 It preyed on thousands of victims across the 103 00:04:05,305 --> 00:04:06,284 United States, 104 00:04:06,585 --> 00:04:08,365 Canada, and the United Kingdom. 105 00:04:09,330 --> 00:04:13,110 According to the FBI, the conspirators extorted approximately 106 00:04:13,729 --> 00:04:14,229 $1,900,000 107 00:04:15,810 --> 00:04:16,790 from their victims 108 00:04:17,329 --> 00:04:21,110 using platforms like Cash App and Apple Pay. 109 00:04:21,675 --> 00:04:23,535 Their approach was insidious. 110 00:04:24,154 --> 00:04:27,115 They posed as a young female, offering teenage 111 00:04:27,115 --> 00:04:27,615 boys 112 00:04:27,915 --> 00:04:32,235 sexual photos, video recordings, and live chats on 113 00:04:32,235 --> 00:04:32,735 video. 114 00:04:33,850 --> 00:04:36,569 Once the victims were lured into exposing their 115 00:04:36,569 --> 00:04:37,069 genitals 116 00:04:37,610 --> 00:04:40,110 and engaging in sexual activity, 117 00:04:40,889 --> 00:04:41,629 the conspirators 118 00:04:42,170 --> 00:04:44,430 secretly recorded the interactions. 119 00:04:45,704 --> 00:04:48,685 They then used these recordings as extortion, 120 00:04:49,464 --> 00:04:52,345 threatening to send the victims compromising images to 121 00:04:52,345 --> 00:04:55,384 their family members and friends or to post 122 00:04:55,384 --> 00:04:56,845 them publicly online 123 00:04:57,704 --> 00:04:59,884 unless the victims paid up. 124 00:05:00,870 --> 00:05:03,370 This case is just one of 100. 125 00:05:04,310 --> 00:05:06,490 Well, I've been hearing about high school students, 126 00:05:06,629 --> 00:05:07,770 17 year olds, 127 00:05:08,310 --> 00:05:10,550 who are emptying out their bank accounts from 128 00:05:10,550 --> 00:05:11,689 their summer jobs. 129 00:05:12,069 --> 00:05:12,569 Yeah. 130 00:05:13,110 --> 00:05:16,504 And they're afraid they don't confide anything to 131 00:05:16,504 --> 00:05:18,504 their parents until the parents notice the bank 132 00:05:18,504 --> 00:05:21,384 accounts are empty. Yeah. What are they praying 133 00:05:21,384 --> 00:05:22,045 on there? 134 00:05:22,425 --> 00:05:24,605 The kid is it just a huge embarrassment? 135 00:05:25,064 --> 00:05:27,225 Think about when you were in school. You 136 00:05:27,225 --> 00:05:27,725 know, 137 00:05:28,425 --> 00:05:29,699 embarrassment is 138 00:05:30,100 --> 00:05:32,660 a motivator. Right? You know? That's what bullying 139 00:05:32,660 --> 00:05:35,060 is. It can be embarrassment and look what 140 00:05:35,060 --> 00:05:36,819 you've got or look how you look or 141 00:05:36,819 --> 00:05:39,139 whatever it is. And think about this. You 142 00:05:39,139 --> 00:05:41,379 know, something that may be the most personal 143 00:05:41,379 --> 00:05:44,514 or secretive thing, and this boy or girl 144 00:05:44,574 --> 00:05:45,875 thinks that they're sending 145 00:05:46,254 --> 00:05:48,175 a nude picture. And I have to say 146 00:05:48,175 --> 00:05:48,675 upfront, 147 00:05:49,055 --> 00:05:50,735 a lot of parents just don't believe that 148 00:05:50,735 --> 00:05:52,814 that's happening. Well, when you look at the 149 00:05:52,814 --> 00:05:55,134 statistics out there, the number of kids who 150 00:05:55,134 --> 00:05:58,040 are sending nude content to other kids and 151 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:00,779 to people they think are adults is astounding. 152 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:01,740 It's so 153 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:03,180 commonplace. 154 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:05,959 It's so ubiquitous that that it's almost like 155 00:06:06,519 --> 00:06:08,199 you know, even if you if you ask 156 00:06:08,199 --> 00:06:10,935 kids sometimes we've asked high school kids when 157 00:06:10,935 --> 00:06:13,094 we've taught places, like, do you know about 158 00:06:13,094 --> 00:06:15,014 sending nudes? And they're like, yeah. I would 159 00:06:15,014 --> 00:06:16,694 never send it, but I know people who 160 00:06:16,694 --> 00:06:19,495 have. And so it's common. It's something that's 161 00:06:19,495 --> 00:06:20,634 happening. And so 162 00:06:21,014 --> 00:06:24,149 these sex torsion scammers are capitalizing on that. 163 00:06:24,149 --> 00:06:26,410 And you have to think, okay. So this 164 00:06:26,949 --> 00:06:27,689 high schooler 165 00:06:28,389 --> 00:06:30,949 who does not wanna be embarrassed has now 166 00:06:30,949 --> 00:06:31,449 sent 167 00:06:31,990 --> 00:06:34,329 a picture or a video of their genitals 168 00:06:34,470 --> 00:06:37,274 or of them masturbating or something that it 169 00:06:37,274 --> 00:06:38,014 would be 170 00:06:38,394 --> 00:06:40,654 horrifying if it got out to their school, 171 00:06:40,954 --> 00:06:42,954 and it would be an embarrassment. And so 172 00:06:42,954 --> 00:06:45,435 now that's being used. And maybe it's the 173 00:06:45,435 --> 00:06:47,115 threat of it going to their parents. Maybe 174 00:06:47,115 --> 00:06:48,475 it's the threat of it going to their 175 00:06:48,475 --> 00:06:51,229 school or their church or some other thing. 176 00:06:51,370 --> 00:06:54,089 We've also seen one of the tactics that 177 00:06:54,089 --> 00:06:55,550 they're doing is they will 178 00:06:56,169 --> 00:06:59,069 even if nothing nude was sent, they will 179 00:06:59,129 --> 00:07:00,509 take pictures and then 180 00:07:01,129 --> 00:07:03,194 take a nude image they've gotten somewhere else 181 00:07:03,435 --> 00:07:05,435 and say it's that kid and then start 182 00:07:05,435 --> 00:07:07,675 saying horrible things about what this person has 183 00:07:07,675 --> 00:07:08,175 done 184 00:07:08,555 --> 00:07:10,955 and, you know, threatening that we're gonna call 185 00:07:10,955 --> 00:07:13,274 the police on you or your family's gonna, 186 00:07:13,274 --> 00:07:15,355 you know, wanna throw you a jab. There's 187 00:07:15,355 --> 00:07:17,514 all sorts of types of manipulation that they're 188 00:07:17,514 --> 00:07:20,069 doing. And if as adults, we fall for 189 00:07:20,069 --> 00:07:22,629 those things, if as adults, we are ashamed 190 00:07:22,629 --> 00:07:24,550 and embarrassed by the things you know, I 191 00:07:24,550 --> 00:07:26,790 know adults that have fallen for scams, and 192 00:07:26,790 --> 00:07:27,449 they're just 193 00:07:28,149 --> 00:07:31,485 they're just Mhmm. Devastated. And they can't believe 194 00:07:31,485 --> 00:07:33,085 they fell for it. Right? You know? And 195 00:07:33,085 --> 00:07:35,085 if adults are doing that, how much more 196 00:07:35,085 --> 00:07:36,944 are we believing that our kids are? 197 00:07:37,245 --> 00:07:39,085 And if they're trying to handle it themselves 198 00:07:39,085 --> 00:07:40,845 and not wanting anyone to know, you can 199 00:07:40,845 --> 00:07:42,845 see very quickly how it becomes a spiral 200 00:07:42,845 --> 00:07:44,545 of of sort of hopelessness. 201 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:47,720 Well, I've heard talk that there's a new 202 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,279 twist on some of this, that they're asking 203 00:07:50,279 --> 00:07:52,459 the kids to carve initials 204 00:07:53,319 --> 00:07:56,519 on their body or attack someone and film 205 00:07:56,519 --> 00:07:58,519 it. Have you seen any of that? Is 206 00:07:58,519 --> 00:07:59,774 that a new thing? 207 00:08:00,074 --> 00:08:02,714 The attacking someone, I think I've seen that 208 00:08:02,714 --> 00:08:04,314 sort of in the news. I haven't worked 209 00:08:04,314 --> 00:08:06,014 any of those cases directly. 210 00:08:06,394 --> 00:08:07,535 The carving initials, 211 00:08:07,995 --> 00:08:10,875 yes, we've seen that. There's 2 types of 212 00:08:10,875 --> 00:08:13,370 cases where I've seen that, where we've seen 213 00:08:13,430 --> 00:08:16,650 a child predator who has established a relationship 214 00:08:16,949 --> 00:08:17,610 with this 215 00:08:18,069 --> 00:08:18,569 minor, 216 00:08:18,870 --> 00:08:22,069 and they are sort of establishing domination over 217 00:08:22,069 --> 00:08:23,910 that kid by getting them to, you know, 218 00:08:23,910 --> 00:08:24,889 carve in initials. 219 00:08:25,514 --> 00:08:27,915 Of course, there are the the sextortion type 220 00:08:27,915 --> 00:08:28,495 of things. 221 00:08:28,875 --> 00:08:32,794 It's just another form of control. Everyone knows 222 00:08:32,794 --> 00:08:35,434 the word trafficking. Right? And that's the term 223 00:08:35,434 --> 00:08:38,235 that you're hearing around there. And trafficking certainly 224 00:08:38,235 --> 00:08:40,629 is just as heinous and evil and and 225 00:08:40,629 --> 00:08:41,769 something that exists 226 00:08:42,389 --> 00:08:43,690 right around us. But 227 00:08:44,309 --> 00:08:46,309 I don't think most parents think that, you 228 00:08:46,309 --> 00:08:49,269 know, that this sort of thing actually happens 229 00:08:49,269 --> 00:08:50,250 far more frequently 230 00:08:50,709 --> 00:08:53,110 than even the trafficking stuff. And it's happening 231 00:08:53,110 --> 00:08:53,850 to kids 232 00:08:54,455 --> 00:08:56,535 that are not high risk. They're not, you 233 00:08:56,535 --> 00:08:58,794 know, they come from good families. They have 234 00:08:58,855 --> 00:09:01,894 parents who, you know, are invested in their 235 00:09:01,894 --> 00:09:03,894 life, and they have a lot to lose, 236 00:09:03,894 --> 00:09:05,815 so to speak. So it's one of those 237 00:09:05,815 --> 00:09:08,519 things where, you know, it's not just gonna 238 00:09:08,519 --> 00:09:11,579 happen to I would say parents have this, 239 00:09:12,199 --> 00:09:14,199 NMK is what I call it, not my 240 00:09:14,199 --> 00:09:16,120 kid. It could never happen to my kid 241 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:18,519 kinda thing. And that's something that we have 242 00:09:18,519 --> 00:09:21,319 to really break that barrier because it can 243 00:09:21,319 --> 00:09:22,379 happen to anyone. 244 00:09:23,215 --> 00:09:24,975 Well, you know, and I hear of parents 245 00:09:24,975 --> 00:09:27,294 that like, they think it you can only 246 00:09:27,294 --> 00:09:30,335 encounter this on the dark web Yeah. When 247 00:09:30,335 --> 00:09:30,835 actually, 248 00:09:31,615 --> 00:09:33,294 you know, what I heard with the FBI 249 00:09:33,294 --> 00:09:35,535 conference, they were talking about Snapchat was the 250 00:09:35,535 --> 00:09:38,149 number one target for these people. I mean, 251 00:09:38,149 --> 00:09:40,009 you think about Snapchat. 252 00:09:40,549 --> 00:09:43,670 And Snapchat, I see most extortion happening on 253 00:09:43,670 --> 00:09:45,990 Snapchat and Instagram. Those are the 2 that 254 00:09:45,990 --> 00:09:48,090 are most commonly seen by me, 255 00:09:48,790 --> 00:09:49,290 personally. 256 00:09:49,845 --> 00:09:51,384 But you have to think about it. 257 00:09:51,684 --> 00:09:54,164 Think about Snapchat and what it's designed for. 258 00:09:54,164 --> 00:09:56,485 It was designed for photos and videos to 259 00:09:56,485 --> 00:09:58,804 delete. Right? And then we add in a 260 00:09:58,804 --> 00:10:01,625 whole bunch of other features, like a map 261 00:10:01,684 --> 00:10:03,840 that will locate you down to several meters 262 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,799 away. It's got an encrypted vault contained within 263 00:10:06,799 --> 00:10:09,120 it. It's got the ability to connect to 264 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:12,019 people who are not within your direct sphere, 265 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:13,679 who may be a stranger to you that 266 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,045 you can connect directly with them. And then 267 00:10:16,045 --> 00:10:17,565 you think about Instagram, and a lot of 268 00:10:17,565 --> 00:10:19,725 those features have now are now added to 269 00:10:19,725 --> 00:10:20,785 Instagram. Now 270 00:10:21,245 --> 00:10:23,345 I will be fair and say that Instagram, 271 00:10:23,485 --> 00:10:25,665 at least in the news lately, has been 272 00:10:25,725 --> 00:10:27,725 saying that they're making it a lot more 273 00:10:27,725 --> 00:10:30,205 child friendly. So I don't ever want to 274 00:10:30,205 --> 00:10:33,649 discount the the positive that these platforms are 275 00:10:33,649 --> 00:10:34,149 doing, 276 00:10:34,690 --> 00:10:35,190 because, 277 00:10:35,730 --> 00:10:38,129 sadly, it could be any platform that predators 278 00:10:38,129 --> 00:10:40,610 are gonna use for wrong. But there are 279 00:10:40,610 --> 00:10:43,250 certain things that make a platform more dangerous. 280 00:10:43,250 --> 00:10:45,089 And to me, Snapchat's one of the ones 281 00:10:45,089 --> 00:10:47,715 that I just don't I don't see any 282 00:10:47,715 --> 00:10:49,634 reason or way that you can make it 283 00:10:49,634 --> 00:10:50,134 safer 284 00:10:50,514 --> 00:10:52,274 when those things are the, you know, the 285 00:10:52,274 --> 00:10:53,955 design of it. Not to say that there's 286 00:10:53,955 --> 00:10:55,875 not some sort of positive out there, but 287 00:10:55,875 --> 00:10:57,795 it's the the one that I've seen most 288 00:10:57,795 --> 00:11:00,134 commonly used, those 2, Instagram and Snapchat. 289 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:02,799 So if I, as a parent, discover my 290 00:11:02,799 --> 00:11:04,259 child is a victim of this, 291 00:11:04,639 --> 00:11:05,940 what should I do? 292 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:08,639 And where do I go? Okay. So we 293 00:11:08,639 --> 00:11:11,919 start with don't panic. That's my first my 294 00:11:11,919 --> 00:11:15,884 first recommendation. My second recommendation is we see 295 00:11:15,884 --> 00:11:18,044 1 of 2 things happen. Usually, with dads, 296 00:11:18,044 --> 00:11:20,684 it's this, I'm gonna kill this person, rip 297 00:11:20,684 --> 00:11:22,284 their head off, and you see sort of 298 00:11:22,284 --> 00:11:24,444 see the, you know, spiral that the dads 299 00:11:24,444 --> 00:11:26,850 are gonna do. The moms sometimes wanna make 300 00:11:26,850 --> 00:11:28,370 a case for the police, so they go 301 00:11:28,370 --> 00:11:30,610 on and pretending to be the kid. Neither 302 00:11:30,610 --> 00:11:32,309 are helpful. Neither are good. 303 00:11:32,690 --> 00:11:35,190 Don't initiate communication with the predator. 304 00:11:36,049 --> 00:11:36,549 Don't 305 00:11:37,089 --> 00:11:39,329 pretend to be your child and and talk 306 00:11:39,329 --> 00:11:41,934 as them. Another big thing we see happen 307 00:11:41,934 --> 00:11:43,294 is a lot of parents will say, well, 308 00:11:43,294 --> 00:11:45,235 I don't want this on my kid's device. 309 00:11:45,454 --> 00:11:47,534 I'm gonna transfer it all to my device 310 00:11:47,534 --> 00:11:48,975 so I can wipe it from my kid's 311 00:11:48,975 --> 00:11:49,475 device. 312 00:11:49,855 --> 00:11:50,674 You've now 313 00:11:51,134 --> 00:11:52,674 transferred sometimes illegal 314 00:11:53,110 --> 00:11:56,070 things onto your device. You've certainly put evidence 315 00:11:56,070 --> 00:11:57,750 on 2. We're gonna have to take both 316 00:11:57,750 --> 00:11:59,290 devices. So don't do that. 317 00:11:59,669 --> 00:12:00,169 Stop. 318 00:12:01,029 --> 00:12:02,730 Contact your local law enforcement. 319 00:12:03,110 --> 00:12:04,790 And just know we've got a ton of 320 00:12:04,790 --> 00:12:07,129 resources out there. There are great organizations 321 00:12:07,509 --> 00:12:10,254 out there working in this field to protect 322 00:12:10,254 --> 00:12:10,754 kids. 323 00:12:11,134 --> 00:12:13,455 We've tried to do with the Catfish Cops 324 00:12:13,455 --> 00:12:15,054 idea. What we've tried to do with our 325 00:12:15,054 --> 00:12:15,554 website 326 00:12:15,934 --> 00:12:18,095 is not reinvent the wheel. We have partnered 327 00:12:18,095 --> 00:12:21,214 with some great organizations that have resources of 328 00:12:21,214 --> 00:12:23,075 their own. We link to those resources. 329 00:12:23,669 --> 00:12:25,929 We happen to work with another great organization 330 00:12:25,990 --> 00:12:28,870 called Prevention Starts With Parents to create a 331 00:12:28,870 --> 00:12:32,169 sextortion guide, a prevention guide, and a response 332 00:12:32,230 --> 00:12:34,629 guide. So those resources are there, but there 333 00:12:34,629 --> 00:12:36,465 are a whole bunch of websites that we 334 00:12:36,705 --> 00:12:38,785 directly link to from our website, or I 335 00:12:38,785 --> 00:12:40,545 can give them out because it's not about 336 00:12:40,545 --> 00:12:43,445 self promotion. It's literally about there are amazing 337 00:12:43,585 --> 00:12:45,264 resources out there. And as soon as you 338 00:12:45,264 --> 00:12:47,665 can educate yourself on it, what we try 339 00:12:47,665 --> 00:12:49,845 to do with our sextortion guides is just 340 00:12:49,985 --> 00:12:50,884 what is sextortion? 341 00:12:51,264 --> 00:12:51,764 101. 342 00:12:52,449 --> 00:12:54,289 The prevention guide is, what does it look 343 00:12:54,289 --> 00:12:56,370 like? How can I prevent it? What are 344 00:12:56,370 --> 00:12:58,370 some conversations that I can have with my 345 00:12:58,370 --> 00:12:59,110 child now 346 00:12:59,570 --> 00:13:01,490 so that maybe we can stop this from 347 00:13:01,490 --> 00:13:02,709 happening in the future? 348 00:13:03,490 --> 00:13:04,850 The other side of that is we have 349 00:13:04,850 --> 00:13:07,409 a response guide. What if something's happened? And 350 00:13:07,409 --> 00:13:07,909 so 351 00:13:08,455 --> 00:13:09,914 specifically to your question, 352 00:13:10,294 --> 00:13:11,754 if something's already happened, 353 00:13:12,134 --> 00:13:14,054 stop. We have a guide that will walk 354 00:13:14,054 --> 00:13:16,455 you right through. What do I do? What's 355 00:13:16,455 --> 00:13:18,534 the next step? What will this look like? 356 00:13:18,534 --> 00:13:20,820 What are some common things to expect? But 357 00:13:20,820 --> 00:13:22,420 even if you don't go to our guides, 358 00:13:22,420 --> 00:13:24,040 contact your local law enforcement, 359 00:13:24,580 --> 00:13:26,820 report the abuse on the platform, and then 360 00:13:26,820 --> 00:13:29,059 contact the police. They'll walk you through what 361 00:13:29,059 --> 00:13:29,960 to do next. 362 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:51,019 Well, you talked about at the beginning 363 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,600 that this is so widespread online that you 364 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:57,159 don't have the resources to make cases and 365 00:13:57,159 --> 00:13:58,059 arrest everyone. 366 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,320 Right. What should we do for prevention and 367 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,995 educating our young people? I think education is 368 00:14:03,995 --> 00:14:05,995 sort of, you know, we think about it 369 00:14:05,995 --> 00:14:06,894 as being this 370 00:14:07,434 --> 00:14:10,315 lofty goal of, you know, what what should 371 00:14:10,315 --> 00:14:12,475 we use it for? And, I mean, we 372 00:14:12,475 --> 00:14:14,634 do it all the time. Right? And I 373 00:14:14,634 --> 00:14:16,555 I use this dumb analogy when I teach 374 00:14:16,555 --> 00:14:18,690 to community organizations or to 375 00:14:19,649 --> 00:14:21,809 parents. When you start teaching your child how 376 00:14:21,809 --> 00:14:23,889 to brush their teeth, you know, as soon 377 00:14:23,889 --> 00:14:26,210 as they get teeth, you walk them through. 378 00:14:26,210 --> 00:14:27,809 You may show them how to brush their 379 00:14:27,809 --> 00:14:29,889 teeth. You may sing a little dumb song 380 00:14:29,889 --> 00:14:32,004 to remind them what you're gonna do. You 381 00:14:32,164 --> 00:14:33,845 you're gonna show them. You're gonna walk them 382 00:14:33,845 --> 00:14:35,384 through that step by step. 383 00:14:35,684 --> 00:14:37,444 And then you're gonna just remind them and 384 00:14:37,444 --> 00:14:39,044 stay on it, and you're gonna keep doing 385 00:14:39,044 --> 00:14:41,044 it. And, you know, at 5 and 6, 386 00:14:41,044 --> 00:14:43,125 you're you're saying, have you brushed your teeth? 387 00:14:43,125 --> 00:14:44,649 At 9 and 10, you're going, hey. Have 388 00:14:44,649 --> 00:14:46,409 you gone and brushed your teeth? It's twice 389 00:14:46,409 --> 00:14:48,330 a day. You know, I jokingly say, my 390 00:14:48,330 --> 00:14:49,950 13 year old, I have to say, 391 00:14:50,330 --> 00:14:52,649 you gotta brush your teeth. It's the second 392 00:14:52,649 --> 00:14:54,649 time today. We've gotta do it. Go brush 393 00:14:54,649 --> 00:14:56,330 your teeth. We do that from the time 394 00:14:56,330 --> 00:14:59,215 they're little, but we want education about tough 395 00:14:59,215 --> 00:15:02,095 things like this or body safety or sexual 396 00:15:02,095 --> 00:15:04,034 develop. All of these things that are uncomfortable 397 00:15:04,174 --> 00:15:06,414 maybe for us, we wanna have, like, a 398 00:15:06,414 --> 00:15:08,654 time that we do education. And I think 399 00:15:08,654 --> 00:15:10,894 that that's sort of setting it up for 400 00:15:10,894 --> 00:15:13,294 failure. Because if you're waiting until a point 401 00:15:13,294 --> 00:15:15,350 to educate or try to prevent, 402 00:15:15,730 --> 00:15:17,429 you're probably behind the curve. 403 00:15:17,809 --> 00:15:20,769 So my recommendation is start very early. The 404 00:15:20,769 --> 00:15:22,389 minute you start talking about 405 00:15:22,769 --> 00:15:25,009 crossing the street and safety things, you should 406 00:15:25,009 --> 00:15:26,769 be talking about body safety. You should be 407 00:15:26,769 --> 00:15:29,345 talking about good touch, bad touch, stranger 408 00:15:29,964 --> 00:15:31,985 danger, comfort with nonstrangers 409 00:15:32,365 --> 00:15:35,264 because most child abuse is happening by someone 410 00:15:35,565 --> 00:15:37,485 known to the family, known to the child, 411 00:15:37,485 --> 00:15:39,985 usually a relative or a close family acquaintance. 412 00:15:40,524 --> 00:15:42,929 So it shouldn't just be stranger danger because 413 00:15:43,089 --> 00:15:44,850 strangers might not be the danger. It may 414 00:15:44,850 --> 00:15:47,089 be someone they know. But those kind of 415 00:15:47,089 --> 00:15:49,889 things can happen young and early. It should 416 00:15:49,889 --> 00:15:52,129 be age appropriate. You shouldn't be talking about 417 00:15:52,129 --> 00:15:53,889 things that you would talk to a 12 418 00:15:53,889 --> 00:15:55,649 year old about with a 4 year old, 419 00:15:55,649 --> 00:15:57,809 but you can make age appropriate talk with 420 00:15:57,809 --> 00:15:59,884 those different ages of kids. And there are 421 00:15:59,884 --> 00:16:01,024 a whole bunch of resources 422 00:16:01,485 --> 00:16:03,084 that I can give you or or kind 423 00:16:03,084 --> 00:16:04,924 of recommend that you can go look those 424 00:16:04,924 --> 00:16:06,764 things up or go online and learn about 425 00:16:06,764 --> 00:16:08,705 them. But when it comes to 426 00:16:09,245 --> 00:16:12,620 these type of things, online, dangerous, certainly start 427 00:16:12,620 --> 00:16:13,600 having the conversation 428 00:16:14,379 --> 00:16:17,019 way early. Talk about, you know, what you 429 00:16:17,019 --> 00:16:17,519 expect. 430 00:16:17,980 --> 00:16:20,860 Talk about, hey, online, you know, these are 431 00:16:20,860 --> 00:16:23,340 people that we can't trust online and the 432 00:16:23,340 --> 00:16:25,334 things we need to watch for. I always 433 00:16:25,334 --> 00:16:27,894 say we wanna empower a child from the 434 00:16:27,894 --> 00:16:29,434 start to be so 435 00:16:29,894 --> 00:16:31,595 confident and so prepared 436 00:16:32,134 --> 00:16:34,774 that when that predator approaches, it's not even 437 00:16:34,774 --> 00:16:36,235 a thought. You know, I've 438 00:16:36,695 --> 00:16:39,250 I've preached this stuff to my kids as 439 00:16:39,250 --> 00:16:40,850 well. You know, I don't wanna just be 440 00:16:40,850 --> 00:16:42,949 a preacher. I wanna practice what I preach. 441 00:16:43,089 --> 00:16:45,009 And so I've talked to my kids, and 442 00:16:45,009 --> 00:16:48,449 they've actually had instances where someone that they 443 00:16:48,449 --> 00:16:51,169 shouldn't have been able to contact them was 444 00:16:51,169 --> 00:16:53,875 able to. And they stopped right away, brought 445 00:16:53,875 --> 00:16:55,714 it into me, and said, dad, I need 446 00:16:55,714 --> 00:16:57,154 you to see this. This is what just 447 00:16:57,154 --> 00:16:59,394 happened. And I had to show them, like, 448 00:16:59,394 --> 00:17:01,875 hey. This is exactly what we've talked about. 449 00:17:01,875 --> 00:17:03,875 I'm not gonna freak out. This is something 450 00:17:03,875 --> 00:17:07,019 that we've already prepared for. Sometimes kids, I 451 00:17:07,019 --> 00:17:09,660 think, are worried that they're gonna devastate their 452 00:17:09,660 --> 00:17:11,900 parent or their parents are gonna just, you 453 00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:14,700 know, completely lose it. And, you know, sometimes 454 00:17:14,700 --> 00:17:16,880 they have to see that, hey. We're gonna 455 00:17:17,100 --> 00:17:18,619 hold up our end of the bargain as 456 00:17:18,619 --> 00:17:19,359 well and, 457 00:17:19,684 --> 00:17:20,265 you know, 458 00:17:20,804 --> 00:17:22,345 handle it gracefully and calmly 459 00:17:22,804 --> 00:17:24,724 and sort of be the parent that we 460 00:17:24,724 --> 00:17:27,204 are in that case. And so I think 461 00:17:27,204 --> 00:17:29,525 it's it's about talking. It's about discussion. It's 462 00:17:29,605 --> 00:17:31,384 we we use the word just be intentional. 463 00:17:31,845 --> 00:17:34,325 Just be invested in their lives and talking 464 00:17:34,325 --> 00:17:35,065 and communicating. 465 00:17:35,819 --> 00:17:37,819 Start earlier than you think. You know, I 466 00:17:37,819 --> 00:17:39,980 think parents sometimes wanna say they ask me 467 00:17:39,980 --> 00:17:40,559 a lot. 468 00:17:40,859 --> 00:17:42,460 What age should I give my kid a 469 00:17:42,460 --> 00:17:44,299 phone? And I have to say, well, I 470 00:17:44,299 --> 00:17:46,940 think that's dependent on your child to some 471 00:17:46,940 --> 00:17:48,319 extent and your circumstances. 472 00:17:48,964 --> 00:17:51,125 I think 10 is a good age to 473 00:17:51,125 --> 00:17:53,205 start thinking about it. I don't think under 474 00:17:53,205 --> 00:17:54,025 10 necessarily 475 00:17:54,565 --> 00:17:56,565 unless you can sort of limit it. But 476 00:17:56,565 --> 00:17:58,805 I certainly see that there are times and 477 00:17:58,805 --> 00:18:01,605 contexts at which maybe a child under 10 478 00:18:01,605 --> 00:18:03,650 does need a device because of what's going 479 00:18:03,650 --> 00:18:05,269 on in their lives with their family. 480 00:18:05,650 --> 00:18:07,289 And if that's the case, then you should 481 00:18:07,289 --> 00:18:07,910 be so 482 00:18:08,769 --> 00:18:09,829 invested that 483 00:18:10,529 --> 00:18:12,789 there's never a question about whether a predator 484 00:18:12,849 --> 00:18:14,450 can get to them because you've locked down 485 00:18:14,450 --> 00:18:17,005 the device and you've prepared that kid. You've 486 00:18:17,005 --> 00:18:20,044 given them confidence to know that if something 487 00:18:20,044 --> 00:18:22,285 happens, you're their safe person to go back 488 00:18:22,285 --> 00:18:24,125 to and and talk about it. You know, 489 00:18:24,125 --> 00:18:25,664 as a reporter for decades 490 00:18:26,605 --> 00:18:29,825 at crime scenes, then later covering terrorism overseas 491 00:18:29,964 --> 00:18:30,944 in war zones, 492 00:18:31,900 --> 00:18:33,579 You know, the things you see. And I 493 00:18:33,579 --> 00:18:35,579 always used to say, be careful of what 494 00:18:35,579 --> 00:18:37,099 you see. Once you put it in your 495 00:18:37,099 --> 00:18:39,019 head, you can't get rid of it. Yeah. 496 00:18:39,019 --> 00:18:40,160 But now kids, 497 00:18:40,539 --> 00:18:42,859 through a phone screen, have a window on 498 00:18:42,859 --> 00:18:45,519 the worst of humanity, the worst of stuff. 499 00:18:46,144 --> 00:18:47,664 And I kind of cringe when I see 500 00:18:47,664 --> 00:18:49,764 parents hand their little ones 501 00:18:50,224 --> 00:18:51,284 the phone at 502 00:18:51,585 --> 00:18:53,924 dinner as a babysitter or pacifier. 503 00:18:54,384 --> 00:18:56,464 It's easy. Right? Do you think there's a 504 00:18:56,464 --> 00:18:56,964 naivete 505 00:18:57,424 --> 00:18:59,680 on the part of adults these days? I 506 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:00,980 wanna say that 507 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:03,279 I think every parent wants the best for 508 00:19:03,279 --> 00:19:05,359 their kids. I think that life can be 509 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:07,460 overwhelming, and so I never wanna discount 510 00:19:07,839 --> 00:19:09,680 the fact that parents have a tough job. 511 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:11,539 I am one. It's a 512 00:19:11,914 --> 00:19:12,815 demanding job, 513 00:19:13,275 --> 00:19:15,194 but I know most parents want the good 514 00:19:15,194 --> 00:19:17,275 for their kids. And so I think sometimes, 515 00:19:17,275 --> 00:19:19,434 yeah, they don't think about or they don't 516 00:19:19,434 --> 00:19:21,515 even know what's out there. The number of 517 00:19:21,515 --> 00:19:23,515 times I've talked to a parent and they're 518 00:19:23,515 --> 00:19:25,434 like, I had no idea this was going 519 00:19:25,434 --> 00:19:27,115 on, or I had no idea this could 520 00:19:27,115 --> 00:19:27,569 happen. 521 00:19:28,049 --> 00:19:28,710 And so 522 00:19:29,169 --> 00:19:31,329 the problem with that though is, you know, 523 00:19:31,329 --> 00:19:33,889 because I also get that sort of once 524 00:19:33,889 --> 00:19:35,169 in a while, I'll get that parent that 525 00:19:35,169 --> 00:19:35,669 says, 526 00:19:36,049 --> 00:19:37,649 I just don't know the tech that they're 527 00:19:37,649 --> 00:19:39,089 on, and so I don't know how to 528 00:19:39,089 --> 00:19:41,264 fix this. And I wanna say, you know, 529 00:19:41,264 --> 00:19:43,504 that's laziness because you do know the tech. 530 00:19:43,504 --> 00:19:45,924 They're they're on the phone that you're using. 531 00:19:46,144 --> 00:19:47,664 You know, I always think it's funny when 532 00:19:47,664 --> 00:19:49,524 parents tell me I don't know the tech. 533 00:19:49,585 --> 00:19:51,345 When I'm about to present when I watch 534 00:19:51,345 --> 00:19:53,365 them for the 10 minutes before the presentation, 535 00:19:53,504 --> 00:19:56,009 sitting on their phone, texting and sending emails 536 00:19:56,009 --> 00:19:57,529 and doing all the things they're doing on 537 00:19:57,529 --> 00:19:58,349 social media. 538 00:19:58,809 --> 00:20:01,130 And so that's laziness because they are on 539 00:20:01,130 --> 00:20:03,289 the the same apps that the predators are 540 00:20:03,289 --> 00:20:05,690 contacting the kids. They're on the social media 541 00:20:05,690 --> 00:20:07,450 apps. They're on the web apps, the game 542 00:20:07,450 --> 00:20:08,750 apps, all of those things. 543 00:20:09,365 --> 00:20:12,005 I think it's just that you don't wanna 544 00:20:12,005 --> 00:20:14,105 believe something terrible could happen. 545 00:20:14,644 --> 00:20:17,384 And so they're they're sort 546 00:20:17,924 --> 00:20:19,684 of putting their head under the sand because 547 00:20:19,684 --> 00:20:22,500 it's easier, and it's less terrifying. So I 548 00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:24,740 wanna give them the you know, the Internet 549 00:20:24,740 --> 00:20:26,500 is a great thing. You can have at 550 00:20:26,500 --> 00:20:29,539 your fingertips things that we growing up could 551 00:20:29,539 --> 00:20:32,180 have never imagined having at our fingertips. Right? 552 00:20:32,180 --> 00:20:34,920 You know, I I remember having the Encyclopedia 553 00:20:35,220 --> 00:20:37,414 Britannica at my house and having to look 554 00:20:37,414 --> 00:20:39,595 up stuff then. And Yes. You know? Yeah. 555 00:20:39,815 --> 00:20:40,315 That's 556 00:20:41,575 --> 00:20:43,255 that's gone. And you can just look up 557 00:20:43,255 --> 00:20:45,115 anything at the touch of a fingertip. 558 00:20:45,654 --> 00:20:48,055 But with that comes, you know, the danger 559 00:20:48,055 --> 00:20:49,894 of, hey. You've got this at your fingertips. 560 00:20:49,894 --> 00:20:52,154 And guess what? The person across the world 561 00:20:52,429 --> 00:20:54,509 has access to your kid. So I think 562 00:20:54,509 --> 00:20:56,269 there are certainly things that you put in 563 00:20:56,269 --> 00:20:57,890 place that protect your child 564 00:20:58,269 --> 00:21:00,829 on their app, but don't or on their 565 00:21:00,829 --> 00:21:03,150 device, don't let that become a babysitter. Don't 566 00:21:03,150 --> 00:21:05,069 let the device become a babysitter, and then 567 00:21:05,069 --> 00:21:07,424 don't put some sort of parental monitoring thing 568 00:21:07,424 --> 00:21:09,585 on that you depend on to be the 569 00:21:09,585 --> 00:21:12,545 babysitter for all of those dangers because that's 570 00:21:12,545 --> 00:21:14,945 when we see parents sort of lose track 571 00:21:14,945 --> 00:21:16,644 of what their kid is doing online. 572 00:21:17,664 --> 00:21:19,904 Do you see any trends emerging that keep 573 00:21:19,904 --> 00:21:21,125 you awake at night? 574 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:25,839 You know, when you've seen I we jokingly 575 00:21:25,839 --> 00:21:27,039 say we've been to the end of the 576 00:21:27,039 --> 00:21:29,679 internet, and it is a terrifying spot. I've 577 00:21:29,679 --> 00:21:31,460 been on the dark web and see 578 00:21:31,759 --> 00:21:33,220 the horribleness there. 579 00:21:34,125 --> 00:21:36,445 I've seen the things that people do, even 580 00:21:36,445 --> 00:21:38,285 on the apps that you just use every 581 00:21:38,285 --> 00:21:38,785 day. 582 00:21:39,565 --> 00:21:41,724 I think right now, the biggest trend as 583 00:21:41,724 --> 00:21:43,404 far as what I get asked about the 584 00:21:43,404 --> 00:21:44,785 most is AI. 585 00:21:45,484 --> 00:21:47,164 I think I'm too dumb to lose sleep 586 00:21:47,164 --> 00:21:48,910 over it because I don't know where it's 587 00:21:48,910 --> 00:21:50,750 gonna go, but that should be terrifying a 588 00:21:50,750 --> 00:21:51,490 bit because 589 00:21:51,789 --> 00:21:54,349 it's sort of evolved quicker than we know 590 00:21:54,349 --> 00:21:56,269 what it's going to be used for. So 591 00:21:56,269 --> 00:21:57,869 that's the thing that I tell people when 592 00:21:57,869 --> 00:22:00,609 they ask me about artificial intelligence and AI. 593 00:22:01,024 --> 00:22:02,784 A lot of people wanna go, what what 594 00:22:02,784 --> 00:22:05,345 is AI gonna do for child exploitation and 595 00:22:05,345 --> 00:22:07,044 online Internet danger? 596 00:22:07,585 --> 00:22:10,005 And I have to say sort of, honestly, 597 00:22:10,224 --> 00:22:12,065 I don't know. I don't think we're there 598 00:22:12,065 --> 00:22:13,664 yet, and I don't think we can see 599 00:22:13,664 --> 00:22:15,664 right now what it's gonna be in 8 600 00:22:15,664 --> 00:22:17,559 or 10 years. I I mean, you think 601 00:22:17,559 --> 00:22:19,559 about it. A lot of the apps that 602 00:22:19,559 --> 00:22:22,299 we're using now very commonly and very popularly 603 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:23,660 weren't around 604 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,440 10 years ago or 12 years ago. We 605 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:28,934 didn't have these apps. And so to think 606 00:22:29,015 --> 00:22:31,174 8 or 10 years now down the line, 607 00:22:31,174 --> 00:22:33,015 I think those are things that we're gonna 608 00:22:33,015 --> 00:22:35,575 be surprised to see. I think that that 609 00:22:35,575 --> 00:22:37,894 we may, you know, run into some things 610 00:22:37,894 --> 00:22:40,215 that we weren't prepared for, but I don't 611 00:22:40,215 --> 00:22:41,995 think it's something that we can't 612 00:22:42,299 --> 00:22:44,779 handle. I think it's something that, you know, 613 00:22:44,779 --> 00:22:47,440 if you are smart about how you approach 614 00:22:48,220 --> 00:22:49,440 handling it now, 615 00:22:50,059 --> 00:22:52,000 you can prepare for it in the future. 616 00:22:52,380 --> 00:22:54,779 I think that's right now, the sextortion trend, 617 00:22:54,779 --> 00:22:57,440 the spike in sextortion is is pretty alarming. 618 00:22:57,674 --> 00:22:59,674 I think the AI trend is pretty alarming. 619 00:22:59,674 --> 00:23:01,535 And I just don't think people realize 620 00:23:02,955 --> 00:23:03,775 how commonly 621 00:23:04,555 --> 00:23:05,934 people are looking up 622 00:23:06,315 --> 00:23:08,335 what we call child sexual abuse material. 623 00:23:08,715 --> 00:23:11,835 It was historically called child pornography, but we're 624 00:23:11,835 --> 00:23:13,375 seeing reports of that. 625 00:23:13,710 --> 00:23:15,650 Just the numbers are staggering 626 00:23:16,109 --> 00:23:17,710 at the at the reports of people who 627 00:23:17,710 --> 00:23:20,029 are uploading and and viewing that kind of 628 00:23:20,029 --> 00:23:21,710 content. What do you think has fueled that 629 00:23:21,710 --> 00:23:23,630 interest in our society that that would be 630 00:23:23,630 --> 00:23:24,450 taking place? 631 00:23:25,804 --> 00:23:28,045 Oh, gosh. If I I don't wanna I 632 00:23:28,045 --> 00:23:29,884 don't wanna get into the psychology of it. 633 00:23:29,884 --> 00:23:32,365 I I think that the ease of which 634 00:23:32,605 --> 00:23:34,285 I mean, you think of the ease of 635 00:23:34,285 --> 00:23:36,144 which people can see anything. 636 00:23:36,605 --> 00:23:37,105 Pornography 637 00:23:37,404 --> 00:23:39,265 in in general is just 638 00:23:39,649 --> 00:23:40,789 everywhere, right, online, 639 00:23:41,169 --> 00:23:43,809 as is everything. Everything is just at the 640 00:23:43,809 --> 00:23:46,210 touch of a button. And so I think 641 00:23:46,210 --> 00:23:47,750 that's sort of become 642 00:23:48,529 --> 00:23:50,929 maybe why we see those numbers going up 643 00:23:50,929 --> 00:23:52,849 is just the ease of which they have 644 00:23:52,849 --> 00:23:55,384 access to it. And then, you know, sometimes 645 00:23:55,525 --> 00:23:56,025 the 646 00:23:57,045 --> 00:23:57,545 unpoliced 647 00:23:58,485 --> 00:24:01,545 places that have allowed it to fester, maybe. 648 00:24:01,845 --> 00:24:04,345 But we're seeing those things, you know, approached. 649 00:24:04,404 --> 00:24:05,465 I know we've seen 650 00:24:05,924 --> 00:24:07,225 arrests happen that 651 00:24:07,710 --> 00:24:08,210 platform 652 00:24:08,589 --> 00:24:10,909 developers happen and, you know, that we didn't 653 00:24:10,909 --> 00:24:11,970 expect. And so, 654 00:24:12,349 --> 00:24:14,669 you know, I I don't I don't wanna 655 00:24:14,669 --> 00:24:16,909 pretend to be the expert about all things. 656 00:24:16,909 --> 00:24:18,049 I I don't know 657 00:24:18,429 --> 00:24:20,484 really what I could say that could have 658 00:24:20,484 --> 00:24:22,484 caused it, but maybe the ease of access 659 00:24:22,484 --> 00:24:23,464 might be a one. 660 00:24:25,924 --> 00:24:29,625 Detective Poor highlighted just how grave and widespread 661 00:24:30,005 --> 00:24:33,450 the problem of financially motivated sextortion is. 662 00:24:34,409 --> 00:24:37,289 Far bigger than any one police department can 663 00:24:37,289 --> 00:24:37,789 handle. 664 00:24:38,569 --> 00:24:41,130 He says the key to combating this threat 665 00:24:41,130 --> 00:24:42,190 is prevention. 666 00:24:43,289 --> 00:24:44,750 Education and awareness 667 00:24:45,289 --> 00:24:47,309 are our strongest tools. 668 00:24:48,305 --> 00:24:49,825 In the show notes, you will find a 669 00:24:49,825 --> 00:24:52,464 link to resources from the Catfish Cops and 670 00:24:52,464 --> 00:24:53,204 the FBI, 671 00:24:53,744 --> 00:24:55,505 where you can learn more about how to 672 00:24:55,505 --> 00:24:56,644 protect your children 673 00:24:57,105 --> 00:24:58,724 from the growing danger 674 00:24:59,025 --> 00:24:59,670 of sex 675 00:25:01,670 --> 00:25:02,170 sextortion.