Thinking about suicide or in crisis? Call or text 988Child exploitation: 1-800-843-5678
Get Help Now
Get Help

How Predators Find Kids Online

Predators find kids where kids already spend time online: games, social media, messaging apps and group chats. NCMEC says online enticement happens across every kind of platform. The patterns are predictable, though, and knowing them helps you spot trouble early.

By the CITA Editorial TeamUpdated October 5, 20265 min read

This guide covers where first contact happens, how offenders choose a child, and the settings that make first contact harder. For the stages of grooming and a checklist of signs, see the grooming guide.

Fast Facts About How Predators Find Kids Online

  • NCMEC received 1.4 million reports of online enticement in 2025, up 158% from 2024.[2]
  • Instagram and Snapchat were the most common places first contact happened in financial sextortion reports.[3]
  • The FBI warns that violent online networks target kids on social media, gaming platforms and apps. Victims are typically 10 to 17, some as young as 9.[4]
  • NCMEC received more than 113,500 reports of possible child sex trafficking in 2025; 93% came from online companies.[5]
  • People 17 and younger filed 13,168 complaints with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2025.[6]

If you think someone is targeting your child right now

  • Don’t confront the person online. Save the evidence first.
  • Report the exploitation of a child to NCMEC’s CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org or 1-800-843-5678.
  • For possible human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733.
  • If your child is talking about suicide or self-harm, call or text 988, any hour.
  • If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Where First Contact Happens

Games and gaming platforms. Chat inside games lets a stranger play alongside a child and build trust through shared interests. The FBI lists gaming platforms among the places violent networks find victims.[4] The Roblox predators guide shows how this plays out on one of the biggest platforms.

Social media. Direct messages, comments and friend suggestions open the door to strangers. Instagram and Snapchat were the most common first-contact platforms in NCMEC sextortion reports.[3]

Anonymous chat apps. About 1 in 10 sextortion reports that named a first platform mentioned Omegle or Wizz.[3]

Group chats and servers. Large communities make it easy for an adult to blend in. Violent networks operate on the same publicly available platforms young people use every day.[4] The Discord guide covers server settings.

How Predators Choose a Child

Offenders look for kids who seem lonely, unsupported or eager for attention. The FBI says violent networks target children and people struggling with depression, eating disorders or suicidal thoughts.[4] NCMEC notes that traffickers often target youth who lack strong support networks, have experienced violence, are homeless, or feel like they don’t belong.[5]

Some online habits also raise the risk, according to NCMEC:[1]

  • Lying about their age to get onto platforms where they can talk with older users
  • Starting conversations with strangers or offering to trade images for money or gifts
  • Sending sexual photos or videos of themselves

Public posts make targeting easier. The FBI urges caution with personal photos, videos and identifying details, which offenders can use to find, manipulate or alter a child’s images.[4]

The Patterns They Follow

Most cases follow a recognizable path:[1][3][4]

  1. Rapport. Compliments, shared interests and “likes” on posts.[1]
  2. Gifts. Offers of gift cards, game currency or other items. The FBI lists anonymous gifts, including gaming currency, as a warning sign.[1][4]
  3. A move to private. The conversation shifts to a more private app, often Snapchat or Google Chat in sextortion cases.[3]
  4. Sexual talk and requests for images.[1]
  5. Control. Threats to share images, or in extreme cases to “swat” or dox the child or their family.[4]

Traffickers follow a similar playbook. NCMEC says they use psychological pressure, false promises, displays of love and support, and intimidation to control a child.[5]

Warning Signs to Watch For

The FBI recommends watching for:[4]

  • Sudden changes in behavior, mood or appearance
  • Pulling away from friends, family and activities
  • Changes in eating or sleeping
  • A new online “friend” your child seems infatuated with or afraid of
  • Gifts, money, game currency or packages from someone you don’t know
  • Talk of suicide, death or not being wanted

The grooming checklist lists more signs in your child and in the other person.

Settings That Make First Contact Harder

  • Roblox: since January 2026, users worldwide must complete an age check to use chat, and parental controls let you limit who can contact your child.[7][8]
  • iPhone and iPad: Communication Safety can detect and blur nude images on a child’s device.[9] See the iPhone parental controls guide.
  • Social media: keep accounts private and limit who can message your child. See the Instagram and Snapchat guides.

If You Think Someone Is Targeting Your Child

Stay calm and listen, and save usernames and messages before blocking anyone. Report online exploitation of a child to NCMEC’s CyberTipline, and possible trafficking to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.[10][11] The reporting guide explains which line to use and what to include.

Take the 2-minute Online Safety Check

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do online predators find kids?

In the same places kids spend time: games, social media, anonymous chat apps and group chats. NCMEC says online enticement happens on every type of platform.[1]

What apps do predators use most?

In NCMEC sextortion reports, Instagram and Snapchat were the most common first-contact apps, with conversations often moving to Snapchat or Google Chat.[3]

What are signs a child is being targeted online?

Sudden mood changes, secrecy, pulling away from family, unexplained gifts or game currency, and a new online friend they seem attached to or afraid of.[4]

How do traffickers recruit kids online?

Often by posing as a friend or romantic partner, offering money, gifts or a place to stay, then using pressure and threats to control the child.[5]

Sources

  1. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). Online Enticement.
  2. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (2026). CyberTipline Data: 2025 CyberTipline Report.
  3. Thorn & National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (2024, June 24). Trends in Financial Sextortion: An Investigation of Sextortion Reports in NCMEC CyberTipline Data.
  4. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2025, March 6). Violent Online Networks Target Vulnerable and Underage Populations Across the United States and Around the Globe.
  5. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). Child Sex Trafficking.
  6. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. (2026). 2025 IC3 Annual Report.
  7. Roblox Corporation. (2026, January 7). Roblox Requires Users Worldwide to Age-Check to Access Chat.
  8. Roblox. (n.d.). Parental Controls.
  9. Apple Support. (2026, September 29). About Communication Safety on Your Child’s Apple Device.
  10. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. (n.d.). CyberTipline.
  11. National Human Trafficking Hotline. (n.d.). Report Trafficking.
Scroll to Top