What is Roblox? Alberta police warn parents about predators on online gaming platform
A Mountie with Alberta's Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit wants parents to be aware that predators are luring children on an online gaming platform called Roblox.
Roblox allows people to create and play games with other users, but officers have noticed an increase in the number of Alberta kids aged eight to 11 being lured from the site
An RCMP officer says kids are first contacted there and directed to apps like Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat where predators then ask the child for nude photos or to perform sexual acts.
"Roblox looks and presents as a friendly and accommodating atmosphere for children and that sometimes gets parent's guards down as well," Sgt. Kerry Shima said Monday.
"Wherever there's going to be kids there may be people who are looking to exploit or take advantage of them. The online environment makes it a lot easier for these predators to access the kids…A lot of these platforms are like this."
Sgt. Shima said Roblox is not the only platform being used in this way and he urged parents to discuss internet safety with their kids for any app they use.
He says there's no need to interrogate children, but it can be helpful to ask questions like, "How's the game going?", "Are you chatting with anyone?" or "Are you making new friends?"
He said it's important to note that it is never a child's fault when they are lured by an adult and it's important to tell them that.
Roblox does have a section for parents on its website which includes information about parental controls, chat filters and reporting abuse.
ICE includes officers from RCMP, Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, Lethbridge Regional Police Service and Medicine Hat Police Service. Complaints can be made by contacting local police.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver says he got a cell phone ticket for using his points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
DEVELOPING Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections
Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday after a political event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe.
U.S. intelligence officials wanted to meet with Transport Canada's UFO 'lead'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
Ontario's 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Of the $40 million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, he allegedly invested just 1.6 per cent before his arrest. Documents suggest he spent $15.9 million on himself, parking a fleet of supercars outside of a mansion on the Lake Ontario waterfront and regularly jet setting south of the border.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Why the speech by Kansas City Chiefs kicker was embraced at Benedictine College's commencement
Kansas City Chiefs' Harrison Butker may have stirred controversy in some quarters for his proclamations of conservative politics on Saturday, but he received a standing ovation from graduates at the Benedictine College commencement ceremony.
Study says aquaculture likely driving wild salmon extinction in Newfoundland
A new study shows an Atlantic salmon population in southern Newfoundland is disappearing, and it says nearby aquaculture operations are a likely contributor to the decline.
Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a smaller and separate island that is home to a university, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.