INDIANAPOLIS — June is Internet Safety Month, and experts say children in our state are facing growing risks online.
Amanda Swert, a prevention education coordinator at Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, said some apps are more problematic for kids than others.
“Snapchat is the number one worst app out there, followed by Roblox, followed by Discord,” said Swert. “Then we call, we have a whole sleeper category of apps-- Pinterest, we have the Bible app, we have Spotify, we have a lot of exploitation that's creeping into those spaces, kind of at the crossroads of music and influencer culture.”
Even education apps your children use for school can lead to back-channel conversation with other kids or adults.
Red flags include when someone asks your child about their age and location.
“They also ask for different scheduling details about what their, you know, their day might look like when they're at the park, when they're at this after-school activity,” said Swert. “They do talk about relationship status. They demand images, they insist on meeting in person, they urge to move to chats or private channels.”
Exploiters may pose as a child or teen to solicit images and then extort your child for money.
“They will say, okay, now I'm going to share this with your family and friends, unless you send me $200 via Cash App, right now,” said Swert.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has seen sharp increases in new and evolving crimes targeting children on the internet, including online enticement, use of artificial intelligence and child sex trafficking.
For the first half of 2025 compared to the first half of 2024, online enticement reports to their CyberTipline jumped from 292,951 in 2024 to 518,720 in 2025.
Reports of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) related to child sexual exploitation soared from 6,835 reports to 440,419.
“These alarming increases are a wake-up call,” said John Shehan, senior vice president who oversees our Exploited Children Division. “These statistics are not just numbers – they represent children experiencing unthinkable harm. We need parents, caregivers, educators and communities to stay alert and talk openly with children about online risks.”
Swert says generative AI allows perpetrators to create realistic but fake images to carry out their crimes.
Rather than coercing sexual content, offenders are increasingly using GAI tools to create explicit images using the child’s face from public social media or school or community postings, then blackmail them.
The best thing for parents to do is use the safety features on your child’s phone and the safety features within the apps.
“You also want to lock down apps and access to certain websites,” said Swert. “Not only does the phone, the device itself, tablet, what have you, have safety features and different settings that can be put in place, but then within the apps, those certain safety features and privacy settings also need to be put in place.”
But there’s no replacement for talking to your kids about digital dangers.
“There's always a workaround,” said Swert. “There's always something that can be updated with the app, so really it starts with those conversations first.”
Swert offered up step-by-step guides on how to set up your child’s phone:
You can report suspected child abuse or neglect at 1-800-800-5556.
