Manitoba kids vulnerable to online exploitation during holiday season, police warn

Manitoba parents who plan to give electronic devices to their children over the holiday season should also pay attention to how they're using them, RCMP warn.

Cpl. Gord Olson with the Manitoba RCMP internet child exploitation unit says members of a violent online network called "the com" have been extorting young people online.

Perpetrators may initiate a relationship with the victims online and send them pornography before asking them to send a nude picture in return, he said.

"Then there's some sort of extortion portion, and typically we're seeing it to be monetary, so they're asking for money or gift cards or something like that," Olsen said.

"If they're not providing what they're asking for, then the threat is to leak their nude imagery."

While there are no known cases involving the group in Manitoba, there have been times when the internet child exploitation unit may not have recognized that it was involved, Olsen said.

"At the end of the day, when we track the individuals down in our cases, 99 per cent of them are coming back to a foreign country, [and] we pretty much have to stop our investigation, unfortunately."

Adults and young people age eight to 17 can be targets of exploitation through social media platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram, as well as game streaming platforms including Discord and Twitch, Olson said.

Children younger than 13 are even more vulnerable because they might not understand what is happening, he said, and the holiday season is a time to keep a closer eye on them.

"If you're giving your child a device over this Christmas season, please know that there you need to be on top of what they're doing on that device as well," Olsen said.

"If they're very immersed in their social media, maybe hiding in their room, you know, talking to somebody online, maybe being very secretive about who they're speaking with, [or] maybe if there's anonymous gifts also showing up at your house from people you don't know addressed to your child, that would be a bit of a red flag as well."