BALTIMORE, MD—Maryland State Police officials are urging the public to prioritize online safety for all ages following the conclusion of “Operation Safe Online Summer” (SOS), a month-long initiative to combat online child exploitation.
The Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force participated alongside 61 other task forces nationwide in Operation SOS, which focused on identifying and apprehending individuals involved in online child sexual exploitation and providing support to victims.
During the operation, the Maryland ICAC Task Force, working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, initiated 595 investigations, leading to 41 arrests and the rescue of 17 child victims from ongoing abuse. Additional arrests are pending further investigation and forensic analysis.
The Maryland State Police Technical Crimes Unit, which administers the Maryland ICAC Task Force, emphasized that children and senior citizens are frequently targets of online criminal activity.
Parents are advised to continuously monitor their children’s online activity, be aware of who they are communicating with, discuss online content, remind them to avoid strangers, maintain control of downloaded apps, know what information their children are sharing, and be mindful of what they see, hear and who they meet online.
Senior citizens are urged to exercise extreme caution when sharing personal information online, avoid suspicious emails requesting personal details, refrain from releasing personal information in unsafe forums, maintain adequate internet security and decline requests for remote access to their computers.
Complaints involving child exploitation, including sextortion, cyberbullying and child pornography, should be filed with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at www.missingkids.com or 1-800-THE-LOST. In cases of imminent danger to a child, citizens should contact local police or call 9-1-1 immediately.
Victims of other internet-based crimes, such as hacking, credit card fraud, phishing, internet extortion and identity theft, are encouraged to file complaints with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) online at https://www.IC3.gov.
The Maryland ICAC Task Force’s primary mission remains the protection of children from computer-facilitated sexual exploitation through cooperation among law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. The task force also conducts community awareness campaigns, delivering 31 presentations to over 500 people in April alone, focused on public education and prevention.
Photo via Pixabay
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