Safer Internet Day Presentation - Monmouth University

Public awareness activities and community outreach are a critical component of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICACU) Program; and therefore, ICAC members regularly provide educational training to school children, parents and community groups within their jurisdiction for the purpose of brining awareness of the potential risk and dangers by perpetrators on the internet.  

In recognition of national “Safer Internet Day”, the NJSP Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICACU) is partnering with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Monmouth University’s Department of Criminal Justice to provide the lecture “A Conversation About Sextortion” on February 7th at 6:30PM. The lecture for parents and caretakers will be available to attend in person at Monmouth University and will also be live streamed on the New Jersey State Police social media pages.  

Self-Generated Content (sexting) sharing has become ever increasingly normative behavior for youth. This behavior can lead to Sextortion scams where offenders obtain explicit content and then pressure the victim to send money or send additional explicit content. Financial sextortion has become a significant danger for our youth, especially boys, and is often perpetrated by organized crime groups in Nigeria or the Ivory Coast. These threats can cause shame, fear and confusion and have led some victims to suicidal behaviors.  

In addition to the above, The New Jersey State Police ICAC Unit is partnering with its Monmouth County ICAC Affiliates and will be doing Internet Safety presentations to 7th-8th grade students throughout Monmouth County on February, 7, 2023, which is the date for the international campaign for “Safer Internet Day.”