Homeland Security addresses online safety, fraud, human trafficking at Myrtle Beach awareness event
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A representative from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations office spoke Thursday in Myrtle Beach about internet safety, fraud and human trafficking.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department and the Horry County Sheriff’s Office hosted the event at the Mary C. Canty Recreation Center.
The Homeland Security official said young people are not the only ones who are vulnerable to being exploited. Elderly people are also a target.
“With their lack of knowledge on technology, how technology works, they easily fall prey to a lot of these crimes, unfortunately,” said Jeremi Blankley, the Myrtle Beach and Wilmington resident agent in charge for the agency.
Blankley talked about the apps predators use to get to kids, the online risks for both younger children and teens, and ways to protect children.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 36 million reports in 2023. It says the number has increased at an alarming rate from 10 years ago when it only had 1 million.
Blankley said this kind of information is important to know.
“I know what the red flags are,”Blankley said. “I can see exactly what I’m looking for. I can see exactly this doesn’t sound right, and I’ll know who to report it to, and I’ll know who to try to get help to solve this.”
Blankley also talked about fraud, saying that four out of five reports of fraud come from victims between the ages of 60 to 79. He said with the use of artificial intelligence, or AI, criminals can take the voice of a family or friend to pretend it’s a loved one to get money.
The AARP reported $28.3 billion was stolen from older Americans in 2022. Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock said community members need to be aware of these schemes.
“Any information you can learn about how to keep yourself safe on the internet, or anytime you’re using your computer, how you can protect yourself when using your phone,” Prock said.
Prock said she’s grateful they get to host these kinds of events.
“These are things our community was telling us they wanted to learn more information about,” Prock said. “That’s why we hosted this event, and we’re going to continue to host events as well.”
Blankley encouraged anyone to reach out to the Homeland Security Investigations tip line or the National Human Trafficking hotline for help.
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Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook, and X, formerly Twitter. You can also read more of her work, here.
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