TxSSC

Cyber predators come in many different forms but what they all have in common is committing unethical, illegal, and self-serving acts that usually escalate in frequency and severity over time. Three examples of cyber predators are cyberbullies, hackers, and criminals.

Cyberbullies are individuals or groups of people that prey on others to humiliate or insult them for their own gain (ego, money, or status). Most cyberbullies do not consider themselves bullies and blame their victims for somehow “deserving it.”

Hackers are individuals or groups of people using phishing, viruses, trojans, and catfishing (fraudulently stating they are someone else) to steal money and information; they even ransom for fun, profit, and control. Hackers enjoy feeling smarter than the programmers or people they fool.

Watch the video below, and ask yourself:

• How could these individuals harm you or others?

Criminals are individuals, crime rings, and multi-national organizations who engage in identity theft, blackmail, sextortion, and human trafficking. Profit is their motivation. Criminals, often gang members, understand that human trafficking is more profitable than selling drugs. Human trafficking occurs in small towns, large cities, in the United States, and in other countries. It is modern-day slavery and includes:

• Forced labor.
• Forced sex work (sex trafficking).
• Kidnapping and selling babies and children.
• Forced marriage.
• Body organ theft.

According to the Office of the Attorney General, Texas has the second highest number of calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.¹ Social media is often used as a hunting ground for traffickers in America as the following video demonstrates.

Watch the video below and ask yourself:

• What happened that started the whole situation?
• What would you do, think, or feel if this happened to you?
• What would you do, think, or feel if this happened to your best friend, sibling, or parent?