Online games such as Roblox and Metaverse act as platforms human traffickers use to lure children and even adults. Through these platforms, would-be traffickers communicate with their potential victims and lure them with promises of a better life. The gaming sites make it easier for traffickers to find their potential victims, difficult to trace. The traffickers use online games to quickly and easily befriend their potential victims through regular contacts to earn their trust. They earn the trust of their potential victims by offering gifts in exchange for things such as photos or promises of meetings (Johnston). Most victims become romantically involved with the traffickers and are compelled, manipulated, lured, or forced into prostitution or sex slavery (Sznitka, 2022). Therefore, online games are used by traffickers as a platform for reaching potential victims on a faster and larger scale.
Criminal human trafficking organizations use online games to lure potential victims in several ways, including:
- The use of fake job posts to recruit unsuspecting victims
- The request for sexually explicit photos, which they eventually use to blackmail their victims
- Study the victim’s mental state through discussions on chat and pretend to understand them, only to lure them into the human trafficking networks later
- The predators also use the chat features in online games platforms to look for indicators of runway activity, substance abuse, and destabilization at home to lure their victims to the human trafficking networks
Therefore, the gaming sites offer human trafficking criminal organizations the perfect opportunity to easily identify and lure their potential victims to their networks (Agency Report, 2019). Parents need to be vigilant and monitor their children’s online activities to prevent them from falling victim to human trafficking organizations.
References
Agency Report. (2019). 7 ways human traffickers recruit victims through the Internet. Retrieved from: 7 ways human traffickers recruit victims through Internet – Punch Newspapers (punchng.com)
Joston, C. Human traffickers’ new tool to lure children: online video games Human traffickers’ new tool to lure children: online video games. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved from: Human traffickers’ new tool to lure children: online video games Human traffickers’ new tool to lure children: online video games (tampabay.com)
Sznitka, E. (2022). Human Trafficking and the Internet. Child Advocacy Center. Retrieved from: Human Trafficking and the Internet – The Child Advocacy Center of Lapeer County (caclapeer.org)