Parents have heard the warnings. It starts with social media and a sinister ruse, quickly turning into something police call “sextortion,” one of the Fox Valley’s most prevalent Internet crimes.
Predators troll for children while pretending to be teens, entice victims to send illicit photos, then use them as blackmail in exchange for more pictures.
“One of the worst social network sites out there for kids right now is KiK,” said Detective Rich Wistocki of the Naperville Police Department Internet Crimes Unit. “We get so many KiK cases that reference sextortion that it’s sickening.”
However, social media sites like KiK, Facebook, Instagram and SnapChat also contain valuable information, and investigators from Naperville, Elgin, Kendall County and Aurora are using these online paper trails more and more to put criminals behind bars.
“We’ve had many cases where the investigation leads to social media evidence, going all the way back to the days of My Space,” said Elgin Police Cmdr. Dan O’Shea. “We do search warrants on people’s accounts, really no different than we have always done with their phone records and then their emails, if the investigation leads in that direction.”
A notable social media-driven Naperville case involved resident Eric Hakala who used Facebook to pose as a 15- year-old boy in an attempt to lure underage girls into sexual encounters. Authorities were able to monitor the victim’s texts, calls and Facebook messages which led to his arrest and conviction.
Social media sites often contain valuable information and intelligence on individuals police are investigating, Aurora Police Department Spokesman Dan Ferrelli said.
“We find that people put everything … from what they are doing, to who they associate with, to assisting us with an updated photograph of their appearance,” said Kendall County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryan Harl. “This is just another tool that we can use to help victims of crime, and bring those responsible to justice.”
In Aurora, a YouTube video once helped police capture a shooter who fired several shots into the air near Rollins Elementary School. The gunman then posted the video online, which was passed on to Aurora police.
Aurora Police Lt. Brian Olsen said social media sites are even changing the way crimes are initiated throughout the city.
“Our gang members are not hanging out on street corners anymore,” he said. Instead, one gang will post a photo of members throwing up gang signs and a location where they’re currently at.”
In the past, when investigating crimes, it was common to look at a suspect’s friends in order to help pursue a case. Now, all of that can happen with the click of a button, noted the experts.
“Now we’re linking kids to social network accounts; who is friends with who on what social network and who talks to who on what social network,” Naperville’s Wistocki said.
Ferrelli, who runs the Aurora Police Department’s Facebook page, has seen first-hand just how beneficial the platforms can be when soliciting information from the public.
In one case, a preschool age child showed up at someone’s front door and no one knew who he was. Officers spent hours on the street — knocking on doors and interviewing neighbors. That’s when Ferrelli thought to take the mystery to the web and post the child’s photo on Facebook.
“Within 15 minutes we knew who the child was,” he said.
Elgin Crime Prevention Officer Cheri Aschenbrenner said the Elgin department started its own Facebook page in March 2012 and expanded to Twitter and other social media soon after that.
She noted that when two Elgin residents went missing — an elementary-school girl and an adult — their photos were posted online and people who had seen the pictures helped locate them safely.
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O’Shea said this is just one weapon that social media have added to the detective’s arsenal. For example, one Elgin theft suspect had been pictured clearly in a surveillance-camera photo. EPD put the person’s face on its Facebook page and somebody recognized him, leading to his arrest.
“Often times a witness will have information that they don’t know is pertinent, and that information is lost without an expedient way to request it,” Harl said. “Someone will see something that doesn’t seem quite right, and won’t call the police until they see that a crime was committed, putting the pieces together.”
There’s no question, say law enforcement experts, that technology has given police much more to look at and work with. “There are cameras everywhere,” said Wistocki, “and when people are using their cell phones, their cell phones leave a footprint somewhere.”
But, as much as technology advances, there’s nothing that will ever replace good old-fashioned police work, experts agree.
“It’s an all-new method of communication for us, but we can’t abandon the old methods,” Aurora Lt. Robertson said. This includes neighborhood canvases and hanging Crime Stoppers door hangers on local homes.
“We’ll get information coming back and forth on Facebook, but that’s not the optimal way to receive it,” he added. “It helps, but it’s not like picking up the phone and calling 911.”
Aurora police said it also pays to be conscious of what you’re innocently posting on your own pages. Details about your life — like that beach vacation you are currently taking — can make their way into the hands of criminals looking to burglarize your home while you’re away. Share that information when you get back from your trip, police said.
Also be leery of the amount of personal information you make publicly available. A name, birthday and location alone are a good jump-start for people attempting to steal your identity, police noted.
“While the vast majority of people on social media sites are upstanding, great citizens,” Harl said, “unfortunately there are a few bad apples that prey on the amount of information given out by others.”