Raising awareness against human trafficking, understanding common signs predators use

ABILENE, Texas — January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness against a crime that’s sometimes difficult to see. Although the signs can sometimes be difficult to recognize, human trafficking is a real issue affecting many people around the country.  

“It happens a lot more than people think. I think a lot of times we think that it looks like the movie Trafficked or something along those lines, but that’s really not the case usually. It could be happening next door to you and a lot of times the most vulnerable population in our area would be our unaccompanied youth,” Beyond Trafficking Executive Director, Stephanie Andrade-Rocha, said. 

Beyond Trafficking is a center dedicated to help victims. Rocha works hand-in-hand with survivors and she shared one popular tactic predators use. 

“One of the most common that we see in is what we would call the Romeo pimp, and that would be the person that comes in and acts like the boyfriend, acts like this perfect gentleman to a young, vulnerable girl or boy even. And, you know, sweeps them off their feet. Promises of the world and I gets them caught up in this game,” Andrade-Rocha said. 

Abilene Police Department Cyber Crimes Detective, Ryan Boyd, says there are several ways predators traffic their victims. 

“So there’s forced labor and then sexual coercion, the two main ones with human trafficking,” he said. 

These days, predators are using the latest technology to target their victims. 

 “In the old days, predators had to go to playgrounds, and now they just go play the games the kids play,” Boyd said. “They play a game with a chat feature. Most of those games have in-game specific money and they just say, Hey, download this app so we can live chat and I’ll give you 20 Roblox or 20 of that endgame in the money and the kids think, Oh yeah, I’m going to present, I’ll download that app. And then they get wrapped up in something that they’re too afraid of. The parents, if they’re getting in trouble, it spirals out of control.” Boyd said. 

Jan. 11 is “Wear Blue Day” across Texas as part of an effort to raise awareness. If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, visit beyondtrafficking.com.

If you would like to learn more about prevention. visit hhs.texas.gov/services/safety/texas-human-trafficking-resource-center