Sextortion cases on the rise says FBI

A major push to watch every move your child makes online is just one of a dozen warnings from FBI offices that was tweeted over the weekend.

It says they are seeing an increase in sextortion on online gaming platforms.

One local mother says she looks at everything her child does online after she found someone trying to follow her 11-year-old daughter.

“The person looked like they were in their 30s…It’s scary, I don’t let her out of my sight. I walk her to and from the bus stop…everything she has is on my phone, it’s just really scary cause she’s a little girl still and there really is some strange people out there,” Melissa Smith said.

And there really is no way of knowing who is on the other side.

WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko says a lot of predators are using a new strategy to get to your kids.

“They are posing as security officers for the various online apps, building a good picture, profile and a name good enough to fake out these kids and entice them to give them their name and password which opens their account up to hacking and makes them vulnerable to sextortion,” Kolko said.

The FBI recommends you check the privacy settings in every app.

it’s standard for apps allow you to control where comments and messages come from. Many apps also allow you to make accounts private, so potential followers have to be approved.