Roblox, Fortnite and dating apps: the new traps to capture young people for sexual exploitation

PalmaVideo games, dating apps, and fake modeling agencies have become new avenues for recruiting young people for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

This was warned this Monday by Sandra Sedano, a professor at the University of the Balearic Islands and researcher on recruitment for sexual exploitation, during the conference New forms of sexual recruitment. The expert focused on the risks hidden behind digital platforms commonly used among adolescents and young people.

Sedano pointed out that more than a third of young people in Spain have seen posts on social media offering money in exchange for sexual content. A reality that, according to the data presented by the researcher, coexists with a growing normalization of these practices: 71% of young people consider this type of offer normal.

Among the means of recruitment, the professor highlighted video games and platforms such as Roblox, Fortnite, Discord, and Twitch. In these spaces, recruiters can pose as other players and use virtual in-game currencies as a lure to request images of sexual content. Sedano warned, however, that the process is usually not immediate, but is based on establishing a relationship of trust with the victim progressively.

“It is not a quick thing,” she explained, but rather “it consists of gradually gaining the victims' trust.” In this way, the recruiter can begin with apparently innocent interactions until they manage to get the person to agree to share images or other content.

The researcher also warned about the use of dating applications and fake agencies that publish alleged job offers as a model. These proposals can serve as a lure to approach young people and lead them into situations of sexual exploitation or the production of sexual content.