Police in Dawson Creek investigating incidents related to child luring…

DAWSON CREEK, BC: The Dawson Creek RCMP wish to warn parents of two ongoing investigations relating to child luring…

Over the last month, police have become involved in two instances of child luring, both believed to involve the same suspect. In each instance, female youths were contacted on social media sites by an unknown person using a male username during which he informed that they were “pretty” and that he could pay them a weekly allowance of $400. In both instances the involved females reported the matter to their parents which lead to police notification.

While those investigations are ongoing, it provides the opportunity for a reminder to speak with your children and to put steps in place to protect them from online predators.

The best way to protect your children is to communicate with them and talk about what signs they should look for, and what they should do if they suspect that they are being targeted by an online predator. Some things to be on the lookout for would be:

• unknown friend requests
• unknown persons requesting pictures of you
• unknown persons wanting to meet in person
• online flirting with people you don’t know
• requests to provide personal information such as name, date of birth, address, or school

Monitor your children’s online activities and protect them from becoming a victim. If you believe your child has been targeted online, call the police to report the incident.