Online communication has become an integral part of most of our lives.The Internet can be a fantastic place to connect with existing friends or even new friends.The Internet can be a place of great comfort to some people. Some people are lonely ,they may have social anxiety or be housebound due to health reasons , so they don't have contact with many people in the physical world .So online communication is all they have. Not everyone on social forums are predators, psychopaths or people using false identities.However ,it’s really important to be careful what personal information you share and who you share it with , because not everyone online has good intentions. Even if you’ve been chatting to someone for a long time, remember that people that you have only met online are still strangers. Predators create an online profile to hunt for vulnerable prey - to scam them or to kill.
Any sane person wouldn't invite a random stranger on the street into their home ,but that is that precisely what is happening when people chat to strangers online. Meeting people on the internet, especially through online dating sites is generally an antidote to loneliness. Predators take advantage of a persons lonliness and circumstances. They may build a fake persona or even use their own identity to build their victims' trust.They usually develop an online persona that matches your interests and your personality. Online predators educate themselves about your interests i.e music, movies, slang that you use, this helps them connect with you on a personal level.They know exactly how to exploit peoples vulnerabilities, because potential victims freely post details about their lives and personalities on social media sites
A pedators intention is to establish a relationship as quickly as possible, endear himself/herself to the victim, gain trust, and will even propose marriage or profess their undying love for you .They especially prey on emotionally vulnerable people. They spend hours honing their skills and sometimes keep journals on their victims to better understand how to manipulate and exploit them. An online predator will make you feel special ,and become all you've ever wanted. They manipulate their victims and put them on a pedestal by making them feel like they are everything they've been looking for in a potential partner. They will throw you compliments about how smart, funny, and/or beautiful you are. They will also tell you that they’re so glad they met you.Online Predators want to see you in a vulnerable state,they love it when you talk to them about something that makes you angry or sad. When you do this, it establishes a sense of trust in their mind. They make you believe “You can always come to them for anything,and that ”you can trust them" and " talk to them about anything"
It can become challenging to determine who is sincere and who is not .While it's not healthy to become paranoid,it's also important not to be naive and not to be too trusting at the same time. Both males and females ,as well as people of ALL ages can be targeted by online predators. Internet users should educate themselves and learn the tactics of online predators. Know their nature and their traits and be very self-aware, so that you won’t fall for their cunning manipulative schemes.Know who YOU are – learn to know yourself, your own vulnerabilities and insecurities. Online predators are highly perceptive and will zero in on your weaknesses. According to FBI sources more than 750,000 predators are online at any given moment. 47% of the cases, the predator will groom their victims by offering gifts or money during the relationship-building phase.They will tell their victim they want to spend their life with them ,marry them ,or that they love them , even though they have never met them in person. So be very aware of manipulative behavior, gifts,or requests for nude pictures. Predators have the ability to charm their way into the hearts of people online before unleashing their monstrous intent.
1 ) Kayleigh Haywood
Kayleigh, 15,was groomed by Luke Harlow on Facebook over a two week period. He manipulated her and earned her trust by telling her how special and beautiful she was ,and how much he cared for. Naively she believed him. In November 2015 , Harlow lured her to his flat. He invited over his 29 year old neighbor Stephen Beadman , and both held her captive in the flat. Half naked ,Kayleigh somehow managed to flee the flat ,but Beadman chased after her and tackled her to the ground. He brutally raped her then walked her over a mile through woods then battered her to death with a brick . He'd inflicted forty-six injuries to her body. In July 2016, Stephen Beadman was sentenced to a minimum of 35 years. Luke Harlow got 12 years for luring Kayleigh to his home before the pair held her captive.
2 ) Carly Ryan
Carly Ryan ,15, met Brandon Kane , an 18 year- old musicianon on the gothic website, vampirefreaks.com. They chatted online for 18 months ,and she professed to love Brandon, and she believed that he loved her. Carly had no idea she was being manipulated and groomed by a 50 year-old predator and paedophile, Gary Newman - who was masquerading as Brandon Kane. Newman lured Carly to a secluded beach by pretending to be Brandon Kane. There, he bashed her, choked her ,pushed her face into the sand - suffocating her. He then threw her into the sea to drown.In March 2010, Newman was found guilty of murder ,and was sentenced to life behind bars with a 29-year, non-parole period.
3 ) Leonne Weeks
In January 2017, Leonne Weeks , 16, had gone to meet Shea Peter Heeley, 18 - a man she met on a dating site. Heeley had stabbed her multiple times then left her to die .Her body was discovered on a pathway.
4 ) Leigh Swanson
In November 2012 ,Leigh Swanson, 45 , met Steven Fabi ,30, over Facebook. Fabi murdered Leigh at his home by fatally shooting her, he then moved her body across the road and into woods. 10 days later Fabi committed suicide
5 ) Brooke Slocum and Charles Oppenneer
In 2014, eight-month-pregnant Brooke Slocum , 18, and boyfriend Charles Oppenneer ,25, agreed to meet Brady Oestrike, 31 , an online stranger for sex. They met through classified ads website Craigslist. Oestrike enticed Slocum and Oppenneer into his home. There, he tied up Brooke,held her hostage before strangling her ,he then hid her body in the trunk of his car. Her unborn daughter also died. Charles , was found decapitated in a park , but his head has yet to be found. Oestrike shot and killed himself during a chase with police
6 ) Ashleigh Hall
Ashleigh Hall ,17, was befriended on Facebook by Peter Chapman , 33 . He used a fake Facebook profile, posing as a 19-year-old called Peter Cartwright . In October 2009, Ashleigh arranged to meet Cartwright,but instead she was met by Chapman ,who pretended to be Mr. Cartwright - Peter Cartwright's father when he picked her up in his car. She thought he was taking her to meet his son as he couldn't make it on time. In order to entice her into his car, Chapman sent her a text message saying the boy's father would pick her up. He texted her to say: "My Dad's on his way, babe."She replied: "He's here, babe."Chapman , then took her to a layby, raped her and suffocated her with gaffer tape before dumping her body in a farmer’s field . He was sentenced to 35 years in prison
7 ) John Altinger
In October 2008, John Altinger , 38 , informed his friends that he was going to meet a woman he had been chatting with on the online dating website PlentyofFish. Instead ,he had really been chatting to Mark Andrew Twitchell,31, who had created an online fake female identity in order to lure Altinger to his death. Twitchell lured Altinger to his garage then knifed him to death, cut up his body and dumped it down a sewer. Twitchell recorded it all on his computer which was later used to convict him. In 2011, Twitchell was convicted of first degree murder ,and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years
8. ) Gordon Semple
PC Gordon Semple, 59, had arranged a "hot, dirty, sleazy session" with Stefano Brizzi - a stranger who he met on gay dating app,Grindr. Brizzi, strangled Semple before trying to dissolve his body in an acid-filled bath .Police found "globules" of flesh floating in the bath. His body had also been dismembered ,and police found body bags containing bones ,as well as Semple's head. They also found pools of human fat in the the oven. Brizzilso also told police he had thrown some of Semple's body parts into the river. He was sentenced to serve a minimum of 24 years in jail.
The devil doesn't come in a red cape and pointed horns. He comes as everything you've wished for
Stay safe online - be careful what you post,and what you reveal about yourself.Most of all ,trust your instincts
Intuition is your superpower. Never discredit it. It is not paranoia.Your intuition can pick up on bad vibrations.If something deep inside of you says something is not right about a person or situation - trust it .
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