Case studies
Composite case study one
Olivia visited a chat room where she was talking to friends about her favourite band. A guy she hadn't met before read her profile and said hi. They started chatting, and Olivia got on really well with him – he seemed to agree with everything she thought and said which was cool. After some time, he asked her for her Instant Message address so they could chat more privately.
Olivia accepted him onto her contact list and after a few weeks of chatting through IM every day she felt she knew him pretty well. He sent a photo of himself to her and she thought he looked really nice, so when he asked her to send him a sexy photo of herself – she felt apprehensive, but sent one anyway. He told her that she looked great and suggested meeting up.
Olivia felt quite uncomfortable with this, since she felt that he was still a stranger – however well they were getting on, so she refused. but her new 'friend' got upset with her and then aggressive and ended up saying that unless she agreed to meet up, he would send her sexy photo to all the people in the chat area.
Olivia was mortified, and really wasn't sure what to do; especially since she had started to worry about his intentions; not only was he blackmailing her but he was also making really suggestive comments which she felt very uneasy about.
One of Olivia's friends advised Olivia that she shouldn't have to put up with 'freaky guys' like this one, and told her to save her conversations with him, and report them to the Virtual Global Taskforce by pasting them on the reporting form. This was then seen by a police officer who began to make enquiries and investigate further. Olivia was relieved that she didn't have to deal with the man on her own, and also found some great advice and support on the website.
Composite case study two
A mother informed VGT that an individual had hacked into an account belonging to a friend of her son and been able to establish contact with her son. In the email correspondence that she saw, the person had requested a mobile telephone number for her son. When she spoke with her son, it transpired that he had made arrangements to meet up with the individual in a secluded area described as a local deserted spot. The mother was able to ensure that her son did not meet the individual and reported the matter to VGT. The police officer was able to identify the individual from the details given by the mother and advise on how to continue to keep her son safe. The adult was 41 years of age and not a teenager as he had indicated.
A complaint was made by a parent that an adult had exposed himself to her children aged 9 and 13 via webcam. Enquires were made which identified that the 25 year old man had entered a popular teenage site giving his details as that of a teenage boy. He said that he was aged 14. A complaint was made to the VGT and responded to by a police officer. The company running the site banned the adult. The officer was able to inform the parent that an offence appeared to have been committed as, by exposing himself, the suspect may have committed an offence of indecency with/or towards a child. The parent was able to make an informed report to the local police in order for action to be taken.
Jennifer is 13 and regularly plays a fantasy role playing game. The game has a chat system which she likes because it helps her advance through the levels at a faster pace. Jennifer chatted with someone who started to ask her for her details like her mobile number. She was also asked if she wanted to have sex. Jennifer immediately stopped using the chat on the game but, a few days later, she discovered that the person had gained access to her messenger account through the game. She contacted the VGT and was able to provide VGT with a profile of a 34 year old man. A police office got in touch and advised Jennifer to speak to an adult and inform them of what had happened. The game site was also informed about what had happened so that monitoring could take place. Because it appeared that Jennifer’s account had been hacked, she was also advised to report this to her provider. She was told not to give out personal details or accept files as this was probably how the person had hacked in to her account. Jennifer was also advised to talk to her friends and establish a password verbally that could be used to make sure they know who they are talking to. The local police were informed.