SAN ANTONIO – Two recent cases involving teens being lured into robberies through social media have prompted a closer look at how the schemes work — and what parents can do to keep their kids safe.
“Any application or social or gaming platform that you can message on can be a way to exploit children,” said special agent Smith of the FBI.
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In one case, Universal City police said Alyssa Victoria Canul, 17, was arrested after allegedly using dating sites to lure young men before robbing and assaulting them.
In another case, Angie Morales, 21, was arrested and is accused of using Instagram to set up a deadly robbery.
“It doesn’t matter the age, from however young to mid to late teens, anybody is at-risk, and we see it across the board,” said Smith.
Smith said red flags parents should watch for are significant changes in behavior and sudden secrecy.
“They aren’t doing activities they normally do, and they become kind of reclusive, and if they’re taking their phones into the bathroom or to their bedrooms for an extended period of time, that can also be a red flag,” he said.
Starting the conversation
Local advocacy group nextTalk urges parents to open conversations with their children about online safety.
“We want to create a team environment in the home where the child truly feels safe coming to their parents,” said Mandy Majors, founder of nextTalk.
Majors said parents should avoid what she calls “crazy parent mode” and instead thank children when they come forward with concerns.
“Anytime they’re bringing us anything, it should be, ‘Thank you so much for telling me. I am so proud of you. I’m mad that this is on a kids’ app and you shouldn’t have this access to this information, but I’m not mad at you,” Majors said.
There are two immediate steps parents can take. First, check privacy settings and turn off direct messages from strangers in any app a child uses. Second, if a threat is suspected, save or screenshot the messages and report them to police.
“I truly believe we’re the solution to keeping our kids safe online and off, but we need to get involved,” Majors said.
If someone is in danger from online messages, they are urged to call police or submit a tip to the FBI online.