OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Wednesday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City joined the Department of Homeland Security to educate the public on human trafficking, its indicators and how to prevent and report it.
HSI Kansas City Acting Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho said, around the world, 25 million people are enslaved in human trafficking. In the United States alone 600,000 are missing and many are believed to be victims of trafficking.
Cho said human trafficking is not something that only happens overseas. It is happening everywhere, in small towns and big cities, including here in the Heartland. In fact, the majority of it is happening on social media.
“Much of this is online and when you have kids who are lacking confidence, when you have kids who are looking for friends online, when you have kids who are into gaming — the predators are out there,” said Cho. “Anywhere you have social media that’s where predators are, and they travel. What I mean by that is they travel, not only across town but across state lines to go after these kids.”
He said when it comes to what to look for, it is extremely difficult because most victims do not identify as victims.
“What happens is they are lured, they’re exploited and many of these victims are enticed by financial gain and then there’s extortion, which is a weighty topic. But it’s happening in our junior high schools, it’s happening in our high schools — we have cases where it’s even happening in our elementary schools.”
Cho is trying to broaden the definition of trafficking because much of it is extortion. Predators online are luring and enticing young boys and young girls to exchange photographs and videos of themselves, which the predator then ends up putting on websites, especially the dark web.
“It’s forced labor, it’s sex trafficking and we see a lot of that here,” said Cho.
Cho said they encourage communication between the parents and children. The parents should have additional scrutiny on what the kids are up to and where they’re going, what sites they’re on, and when they go out, who they’re meeting with. He said it’s difficult to narrow down and say 'this is what to do' because, in every situation, it’s going to be different.
“Oftentimes it’s the kids who may not be as popular, may not have the confidence, and may not have the interaction socially; they prey on those kids first because they're out there. They're online looking for friends, they’re seeking that attention, that affirmation that what they’re doing is right and they have self-worth,” said Cho. “So, if they don’t get it from their parents, they don’t get it from friends, they will get it online through a predator who’s looking for that and willing to stalk them and prey on them.”
Cho urges that if you see signs of someone who seems vulnerable, who may not have a say or a choice to freely travel or make their own choices — and there is someone controlling them — to call the police or call 911, even if it may not be trafficking.
For more information on trafficking visitdhs.gov and to report suspected human trafficking to federal law enforcement call: 1-866-347-2423 which is available 24/7 with trained investigators on the tipline.
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