Warning about new tricks of child abuse criminals

The Criminal Police Department, Ho Chi Minh City Police, said that since the beginning of the year, there have been 45 cases of violence and child abuse in the city, with 46 victims - a decrease of 2 cases, 7 victims, and 26 subjects compared to the same period in 2023.

Of which, the group of acts related to sexual abuse accounted for the highest number with 40 cases (over 88.8%). In addition, there were acts related to violence, abuse; buying and selling, swapping, appropriating, kidnapping; and other acts. The City Police have criminally prosecuted 27 cases/31 subjects; administratively prosecuted 1 case/1 subject, and continued to investigate 17 cases/17 subjects.

In 2023, there were 186 cases with 196 victims in the city; including 155 cases of sexual abuse and 16 cases related to violence and abuse.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Pham Thanh Trung, Criminal Police Department, Ho Chi Minh City Police, the risk of child abuse via social networks is expected to increase due to many incidents occurring over a long period of time, recurring many times with many victims but only being discovered a long time later.

Lieutenant Colonel Pham Thanh Trung also warned about new methods and tricks of child abuse criminals, especially child sexual abuse through social networks. The main tricks of these criminals are to set up virtual chat rooms, online games, and forums on websites and social networks to collect private personal information of children.

Some subjects create virtual information on websites and social networks such as: name, age, image, address, occupation, wealthy and wealthy life to easily approach, get acquainted, attack the psychology and weaknesses of children, make friends with the image of being approachable and friendly, educated, having income, appearing thoughtful, experienced, knowing how to share, understanding the psychology and interests of children with their experience, making children trust, even consider them as idols... Through this image, children gradually become dependent, consider the subject as a spiritual refuge, then the subject deceives and seduces children to commit acts of sexual abuse, prostitution, child trafficking, labor exploitation...

The Criminal Police Department also warned that some subjects use fake images of people of the same sex and age as children through social networks such as Facebook, Zalo, Viber, Wechat, Whatsapp, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram... to approach and get acquainted. After a period of chatting about hobbies, studying... the subjects switch to chatting about sex, wanting to exchange images of sensitive parts with each other, asking children to take sensitive images of themselves to send to them.

After obtaining some images of children, they reveal their true identity as criminals, forcing children to have sex (including extortion), otherwise they will spread those images on websites and social networks. In particular, there are cases where subjects use the trick of soliciting and luring children with material things, upgraded virtual game accounts... on the condition that children must send them nude images, sensitive video clips of themselves or arrange to go to a private place of their choice to take photos, then perform acts such as: sexual abuse, extortion, prostitution brokerage or human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution...

To prevent child abuse, Ho Chi Minh City Police are strengthening professional activities to combat social evils, especially violence and child abuse; closely coordinating with local sectors, unions and social organizations to build many models of "Preventing child sexual abuse", "Preventing child violence, abuse, and trafficking"... to propagate and popularize crime prevention and control programs, including crimes of violence and child abuse through social networks.

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