Source: US FBI
With students back in school, FBI Jacksonville, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and Duval County Public School Police want to help parents and students build a digital defense to stay safe online. Predators don’t stop just because kids are in school.
“The internet is a powerful tool for education and connection, but criminals exploit its anonymity to target children,” said FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Jason Carley. “These predators are relentless and adapt quickly. By recognizing the warning signs, parents and caregivers can better protect their children. Taking action early can also stop a predator from harming another child.”
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our children and we will do everything in our power to hold offenders accountable,” said St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick. “I encourage parents and guardians to be proactive about monitoring online activities and educating yourself on Internet safety.”
FBI Jacksonville has seen a 60% increase in sextortion complaints filed with our Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) across the state for the first 7 months of this year compared to last year, with losses close to $1 million. In North Florida, IC3 reports for the first 7 months of 2025 show the same number of complaints of sextortion compared to all of 2024. Sextortion can start on any site, app, messaging platform, or game where people meet and communicate and then ask children for explicit photos. After the criminals have one or more videos or pictures, they threaten to publish that content, or they threaten violence, to get the victim to produce more images. The shame, fear, and confusion children feel when they are caught in this cycle often prevents them from asking for help or reporting the abuse.
Violent online networks are also targeting vulnerable and underage populations across the United States and here in North Florida. These networks, which include 764 and others, target the most vulnerable members of society, our children and other at-risk individuals. They do this by connecting with them through online platforms commonly used by young people and then manipulating or coercing them into producing and sharing extreme gore content and child sexual abuse material (CSAM), or engaging in acts of animal cruelty, self-harm, or violence.
We want to make sure parents and caregivers are armed with the information about red flags to watch for, including changes in behavior that could indicate online exploitation, cyberbullying or inappropriate content.
Here’s a list of Do’s and Don’ts:
Do:
- Closely monitor children’s use of online services.
- Conduct regular Internet searches of children’s information to monitor the exposure and spread of their information on the Internet.
- Consider credit or identity theft monitoring to check for any fraudulent use of child’s identity.
- Have open communication with your child/children to help prevent cybercrime. Talk about their online activities and what games they play.
- Conduct regular updates from software companies to help stop security breaches.
- Keep all text, email, and other message interactions as evidence.
Don’t:
- Don’t delete messages from the offenders. It’s crucial for investigations.
- Don’t provide detailed information on children when creating user profiles (e.g., use initials instead of full names, avoid using exact dates of birth, avoid including photos, etc.)
- Don’t post hoax threats online. Hoax threats are not a joke, and they can have devastating consequences. It disrupts school, waste limited law enforcement resources, and puts first responders in unnecessary danger.
Educators and parents are also encouraged to register students for the FBI Safe Online Surfing Internet Challenge (FBI SOS)—a free, interactive program that can be played at home or in the classroom. Lessons range from web terminology and password security, to safeguarding personal information, identifying online predators, good virtual citizenship and more. Although anyone can complete FBI SOS activities, the tests are designed for students in third through eighth grades.
Additional resources:
If you have evidence your child or someone else you know may be a victim of a crime, or if you want to report suspicious activity, please visit the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. You can also contact FBI Jacksonville at (904)-248-7000 or your local police agency.