SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A new viral social media trend has caught the eye of Scottsdale police as they are investigating two incidents of teens seeking out alleged child predators to meet up with them in public last week.
12News learned these teens are posing as young girls online either via dating apps or social media platforms and then are texting for, at times, multiple months before planning a meet-up in person. After meeting in person, the teens are filming and posting those interactions online.
“I don't know if it's to at least get that person called out or get more likes and views. I don't know what their end result is for them," Scottsdale Police Sgt. Allison Sempsis said.
When asked if this filmed interaction was to embarrass them, Sempsis said she has seen that be a reason why these teens would post their meetups on social media. She wants to warn that doing these things could find themselves on the other side of the law.
"You don't have any legality to go and chase people and cause collisions or hurt somebody else, and we don't want to see anybody getting hurt or arrested," Sempsis said.
In one case under investigation, a trio of teens met up with a man and attempted to extort him for money.
“They agreed to meet up at a location at this day and time, and once the male showed up, he was greeted by three juveniles, and they told him that they were going to call police unless they gave him $200," Sempsis said.
Where are the parents? Scottsdale Police say this behavior is "often unknown to them," until the videos are already posted on social media. They are warning parents and teens alike that this social media challenge does not help their investigations into child predators, it hurts them.
“Call the police if you see anything, and let our investigators do it," Sempsis said.
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