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Police Urge Parents To Worry About Predators Luring Kids With Fortnite

In previous years, parents worried about their children being approached by predators in public, but the present concern has shifted to social media. 

Authorities are now warning parents that apps on mobile devices are providing predators with more lines of communication to minors, including popular video games Fortnite and Minecraft.

After announcing the arrests of 24 alleged predators earlier this week, Arizona state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal made the public aware of the fact that people looking to take advantage of teens and children have more opportunities than ever before as a result of the evolving landscape of internet communication.


“It is a frightening reality that sexual predators are lurking on social media, ready to strike if they find a child who is vulnerable,” Grewal said in describing how the 24 suspects were attempting to lure and illicit sex with teenagers.

All men, and verging in age and walks of life, some of the suspects posed as teenagers. Most of the accused utilized a number of apps that provided them an opportunity to contact children. The 24 men were caught by undercover detectives with the New Jersey State Police’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that also used the apps. 

Detectives are trained by the task force to maintain online profiles on apps known for hooking up, along with other communication and video game apps that have chat areas.

“These arrests serve as a sobering reminder that parents should closely monitor their child’s online activity,” State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan said Tuesday.

Some of the apps have an 18+ age requirement, but users are still able to enter a birth date that’s older or younger than they actually are, which leads users to include more than adults. A person’s age listed on Facebook sets their age on other apps if the two are synced.

Numerous social media apps have minimum age requirements of 13. 

One of those apps, Tumblr, says it’s serious about its age requirement, writing:

“You have to be the Minimum Age to use Tumblr. We’re serious: it’s a hard rule. “But I’m, like, almost old enough!” you plead. Nope, sorry. If you’re not old enough, don’t use Tumblr. Ask your parents for a Playstation 4, or try books.”

But Tumblr and other apps don’t have a foolproof method of keeping children off the app. Anyone who is able to calculate a birthday that would make them older than the required age can access the app.

The only guaranteed way to ensure children and teenagers avoid entering into conversations with someone older than them is by parents being aware of their child’s social media usage and providing proper education. 

“If children appear anxious of evasive when the topic is raised, it may be a red flag,” Grewal said. “It’s critical that parents talk to their children about social media and chat apps to let them know that the people they encounter may not be who they initially seemed to be.”