Backgrounder
Child Luring – Online – How to Protect Your Loved Ones
January 17, 2025
-
Iqaluit, Nunavut
From: Nunavut RCMP
On this page
Content
The Nunavut RCMP Specialized Investigative Team is providing information to help Nunavummiut protect themselves and their loves ones against child luring online.
Child Luring occurs when an adult uses the internet to communicate with someone they know is under 18 years of age for a sexual purpose. Luring often starts with online chatting, then moves to sharing intimate images and can escalate to meeting in person where physical sexual abuse can occur.
As a parent you have an important role to play in keeping your children safe from online predators. Here are some recommendations to reduce the risk of your child becoming a victim:
- Talk to your child/teens regularly about internet safety;
- Become familiar with the apps and websites your child is watching or gaming on;
- Monitor your child/teens internet activity and who they are contacting;
- Look into free Parental Control Apps for iPhone and Android phones;
- Review the privacy settings and how to report inappropriate content and behavior;
- For consoles and computers, set up parental controls and create passwords.
- Seek games that offer the ability to block or restrict individuals who can play with your child and allow you to mute other individuals from chatting with them;
- Remove devices from rooms before bed and consider turning off the Wi-Fi at night; and
- Teach your child or teen that they should never meet someone they met online in person without a parent or guardian present.
If a Victim:
- Immediately stop talking to that person;
- Do not delete the chats. Take a screenshot of the image or video with the user name, phone number, date/time and entire text conversation; and
- Reach out for help, tell a trusted adult who can call the police.
