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The age of the internet and social media has given predators and other nefarious characters new avenues for carrying out their schemes. While the online world comes with an innate paper trail, it can also make certain things easier to get away with (for some time) and harder to initially detect. Human trafficking is one example of this. It also remains well-documented that many human traffickers use social media, video games, chat apps, dating apps, and other online forums to make contact with their targets. Now, officials in South Carolina report that not only is human trafficking on the rise in the state, but children are becoming increasingly more common targets.

What to know about human trafficking in South Carolina

Information provided by the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force is very chilling. According to this task force, of 416 human trafficking cases that it worked on in 2022, 399 applied to underage children. Furthermore, Kathryn Moorehead, the director of the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force, has information that everyone, regardless of their location, can benefit from. Moorehead is warning that human traffickers continue using social media to find new victims to exploit. In many cases, these traffickers lie about their ages and intentions. Oftentimes, traffickers even try to get their hooks in children by pretending to be romantically interested in them before pushing for meet-ups. Additional information from the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force reveals the majority of minors targeted by human traffickers online are between 14-years-old to 18-years-old. However, there are also cases of middle school students in South Carolina being targeted by traffickers via social media platforms, video games, and other apps.

Human traffickers and grooming

Before going in for the proverbial "kill," many human traffickers work to groom their targets so they're easier to victimize later. Common grooming tactics from these predators are as follows:

• Pretending to share similar interests
• Providing gifts/money
• Posing as a support system for children who need one
• Providing food, clothes, or other necessities that needy children may be lacking

Moorehead warns that any child who feels pressured by anyone to do something they are not comfortable with should know they owe this person nothing. She also encouraged children in this position to reach out for help. Anyone who wishes to report what they believe to be human trafficking can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline via phone at 1 (888) 373-7888 or by text at 233733.