Children as young as 12 are being targeted by adults who may have malignant intensions
Parents have been warned that predators may be luring children with giveaways of the popular Prime energy drink that many youngsters are desperate to get their hands on.
The hydration drink, created by YouTube superstars Logan Paul and KSI – who have nearly 50 million subscribers between them and are popular with younger audiences – has become a viral sensation after it was launched last year. The buzz has lead to huge queues and the drink being sold out across stores as well as inflated prices from online bidding wars.
Now tech experts Geonode have found children as young as 12 are being targeted after scouring chat room websites.
The internet proxy experts fear that adults running “schemes and competitions” for the product may have malignant intensions.
It was also found that Google searches around free Prime drink meet-ups had soared a shocking 789 per cent from last month.
An abduction agency has warned parents to be vigilant. Action Against Abduction’s Geoff Newiss explained that the internet had changed the nature of grooming.
He told The Sun: “Online forums have really changed the nature of these offences.
“The important thing to remember is that simply warning children about strangers is probably not going to do the job.
“Children go online to meet and connect with people, and the concept of a stranger quickly gets lost, particularly in the face of a powerful lure.
“In the same way as outdoor safety, we suggest that parents use the Clever Never Goes rule.”
The ‘Clever Never Goes’ campaign is a new initiative that teaches children how to stay safe from abduction whether they are outside or online. It’s the modern alternative to the out-dated and fundamentally flawed ‘Stranger Danger’ message.
The premise is that teaching children simply to avoid strangers doesn’t work. Most strangers will help rather than harm children. Conversely, it is often people known to children that pose the greatest threat.
Clever is a character, a robot, which has built-in features that help him know whether he is in a safe or unsafe situation.
Advice to parents when teaching this mantra is:
- Don’t tell your kids to fear strangers, instead talk to them about who they are allowed to go with: Mum, Dad, Grandma, the childminder, best friend’s parents, etc. Settle on a short list of ‘safe’ people.
- Tell your kids how clever they are and that you want them to use their cleverness when they’re outside so they can stay safe.
- Tell them there’s one easy rule to remember: Clever Never Goes.
You can download a pack for parents here.
