‘Clash of Clans’ and Instagram are being used to target children online

Pedophiles are grooming children using the mobile game “Clash of Clans” and Instagram, a popular social networking website. Disturbing figures revealed that almost 400 boys and girls have been groomed via these apps. These individuals are said to be targeting children as young as seven years old.

The Greater Manchester Police has received reports of 389 incidents over the past three years. According to the figures collected by Manchester Evening News, two-thirds of these incidents took place during the last year alone. The figures reveal that a nine-year-old boy was groomed via the smartphone game, “Clash of Clans."

One of the youngest victims is a seven-year-old boy who was sexually abused by the suspect via Instagram. No charges were brought yet as the person could not be identified just like many other pending cases of cyber crime due to lack of evidence.

“Clash of Clans” is a mobile game where players build an army of barbarians and wizards to fight against other players online. The game is owned by the Helsinki-based firm, Supercell. A spokesperson for the company said that the game is described as suitable for persons 13 years or older. Supercell has also placed other safety precautions within the game such as limiting public chats with other players and regular warnings given when it comes to the dangers of sharing personal information to anyone in “Clash of Clans.”

“Supercell takes security very seriously,” said the spokesperson for Supercell as reported by The Mirror.

According to the statements from Supercell, the company has even compiled a “blacklist” of offensive words and phrases. Those who violated the terms were removed from the game. The spokesperson also noted that there are tools through which people can report inappropriate behavior during the gameplay. “Clash of Clans” also offers a “mute” feature that allows players to disable chat functionality for specific users.

"Safety is the most important thing to us when we are protecting our community,” said an Instagram spokesperson after being asked about the incidents.

Vanessa Jardine, detective chief superintendent at Greater Manchester Police said that online grooming is a very serious crime. Online grooming has become prevalent as the use of mobile technology is growing, Jardine added.