Eddie Manuel Nuñez Santos of Lima, Peru, posed as a teenage boy name "Lucas" on an unnamed online gaming platform and solicited sexually explicit photographs from several underage girls in the U.S., some as young as 13.
When they refused to send the photos, Santos threatened to kill them and blow up their schools.
He then emailed or filled out online forms to send bomb threats to their schools and other places, including synagogues and airports. The threats were placed in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Arizona, and Alaska.
Charges have been filed in the U.S., and the Peruvian government arrested Santos. There's no word on extradition dates or plans.
And now for a public service announcement:
While the online game platform is unnamed, this case does demonstrate the ongoing need for parental vigilance when your children are online.
The FBI estimates there are 500,000 online predators active daily, and all of them have multiple accounts.
They use things like cheat codes and free in-game money to lure kids into a conversation and then start grooming them in chat.
Here's the FBI's checklist on keeping your kids safe from these predators:
- Educate yourself about the websites, software, games, and apps that your children use.
- Check their social media and gaming profiles and posts. Have conversations about what is appropriate to say or share.
- Explain to your kids that once images or comments are posted online they can be shared with anyone and never truly disappear.
- Make sure your kids use privacy settings to restrict access to their online profiles.
- Tell your children to be extremely wary when communicating with anyone online who they do not know in real life.
- Make it a rule with your kids that they can't arrange to meet up with someone they met online without your knowledge and supervision.
- Report any inappropriate contact between an adult and your child to law enforcement immediately. Notify the site they were using, too.
Protect your kids, folks.
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