‘It takes a village:’ Investigators urging parents to talk to kids about online dangers

Back to school is almost here, and federal investigators are warning parents to keep a close eye on what their kids are looking at on their computers and tablets.

“It comes down to is having conversations with your kids of the dangers,” Tim Hemker said. He’s the new Assistant Special Agent for Homeland Security Investigations.

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It’s now launching the Know2Protect campaign to educate parents and kids about online predators.

“[It’s] geared towards providing resources, education, and awareness for parents and children alike in regards to the risks of potential harm by predators online,” Hemker said. “As well as some measures for safety and resources and those types of things.”

Hemker said parents should make sure all privacy settings are turned “on” on their devices and remind kids not to chat with anyone they don’t physically know. These tools are important as they’re seeing an increase in the number of predators online.

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The Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Taskforce, launched in 2022, assists in tracking those predators down. It’s a partnership between seven of our local sheriff’s offices.

In 2023, the task force received 663 cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that helped uncover 75,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material. That led to 31 arrests, 21 convictions, and 18 offenders sentenced.

“It takes a village to combat a lot of this and the good thing is the village is here,” Hemker said.

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The Department of Homeland Security also has a program called iGuardian , which offers in-person presentations for kids and teens to educate them on the threat on online sexual exploitation. You can request a presentation by emailing iGuardian.hq@hsi.dhs.gov.

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