POSH
What To Do If Your Child Is In Danger Online
If your child may be in danger, act calmly and quickly.
Your job is to protect the child, stop escalation, save evidence, and get the right help.
Use this page for serious online risk:
Threats, blackmail, sextortion, grooming, sexual requests, unsafe contact, stalking, sharing images, coercion, or a child feeling scared and trapped.
Emergency parent action page
SAFETY FIRST. EVIDENCE SECOND. REPORT FAST.
You do not need to solve everything instantly. You need to slow the danger, protect your child, preserve what happened, and move into the correct support pathway.
If there is immediate physical danger, contact emergency services now.
If the danger is online but active, stay calm and follow the steps below.
Immediate danger rule
If someone is trying to meet your child secretly, act now.
If someone is threatening your child, act now.
If someone is blackmailing your child, act now.
If someone is asking for sexual images, act now.
If your child feels trapped, scared, or unsafe, act now.
Do not wait for perfect proof when safety is at risk
Step 1: Check immediate safety
- Is your child physically safe right now?
- Does the person know your child’s address, school, workplace, routine, or location?
- Has the person asked to meet in real life?
- Has the person threatened to come to your child, school, or home?
- Is your child panicking, hiding, crying, frozen, or scared to speak?
If there is immediate physical danger, contact emergency services first.
Step 2: Stop escalation
- Do not let your child keep replying alone.
- Do not send more photos, videos, messages, money, gift cards, Robux, or account access.
- Do not negotiate with threats alone.
- Do not move the conversation to another app.
- Do not allow secret contact to continue while you assess the danger.
The first goal is to stop the person gaining more control.
If there is blackmail or sextortion
Do not send more.
Do not pay.
Do not negotiate alone.
Do not delete evidence first.
Do not shame your child.
Blackmail relies on panic, shame, and silence
Step 3: Save evidence
- Screenshot usernames, profile links, handles, display names, and account IDs.
- Save messages, threats, requests, images, payment demands, links, and dates.
- Record which app or game it started on and where it moved.
- Save server names, group names, phone numbers, emails, or payment details.
- Do not delete conversations until important evidence is saved.
Evidence helps platforms, police, schools, and support services act properly.
Step 4: Work out the risk pathway
Where it started
↓
Who made contact
↓
Where it moved
↓
What they asked for
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What threat or pressure appeared
Follow the pathway. Many serious cases move across apps before parents see the danger.
High-risk pathways
- Roblox or gaming contact moved into Discord or Snapchat.
- TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram contact moved into private messages.
- Group chat pressure moved into screenshots, threats, or side chats.
- Someone used gifts, Robux, skins, attention, or roles to gain trust.
- Someone asked for photos, videos, voice, location, school, or secrecy.
- Someone threatened to share, expose, report, ban, shame, or harm your child.
The move from public contact to private pressure is a major warning sign.
Step 5: Ask calm safety questions
“Are you safe right now?”
“Does this person know where you live or go to school?”
“Have they threatened you?”
“Have they asked for photos, videos, money, or more contact?”
“Did they tell you not to tell me?”
“Did they ask to meet in person?”
“What app did this start on, and where did it move?”
Ask to protect, not to punish.
Step 6: Report through the right pathway
- Report the account or content inside the platform.
- Use official child safety reporting pathways if exploitation, grooming, sexual requests, or threats are involved.
- Contact police if there are threats, blackmail, sexual exploitation, stalking, meeting attempts, or immediate danger.
- Contact the school if classmates, group chats, bullying, image sharing, or peer threats are involved.
- Keep a record of what was reported and when.
Do not rely only on blocking if serious risk is already active.
What not to do during danger
- Do not yell at your child for telling you.
- Do not publicly post screenshots while your child is exposed.
- Do not aggressively confront the person before saving evidence.
- Do not delete everything before documenting it.
- Do not let your child keep negotiating alone.
- Do not minimise threats as “just online.”
Bad first reactions can increase fear, silence, and evidence loss.
What to say to your child first
“You are not in trouble for telling me.”
“We are going to keep you safe first.”
“You do not need to reply anymore.”
“We are not sending anything else.”
“The person threatening or pressuring you is the one doing wrong.”
“We will deal with this together.”
Choose the closest situation
The emergency response pattern
Check safety
↓
Stop escalation
↓
Save evidence
↓
Report properly
↓
Support the child
Repeat this pattern when the situation feels serious.
Final emergency reminder
Safety comes first.
Evidence matters.
Threats are serious.
Your child needs support, not shame.
If your child is in danger online, act calmly, save evidence, and get help fast