Law enforcement officers say parents who want to guard children from the threat of human trafficking must first understand that predators are often wolves dressed in sheep's clothing.
Police say criminals seduce their victims by showering them with compliments, gifts, and false friendship.
Felicia Snell of Columbus says she was just 16 years old when it happened to her.
“He bought me clothes, he gave me money, he drove me around in his nice, big Cadillac. What 16 year old wouldn’t like that?” asked Snell.
She says it wasn’t long before her boyfriend exposed her to crack cocaine. Snell says it was a matter of time before she was engaging in prostitution to support her addiction.
Westerville police officer Brett Peachey is on a federal task force targeting predators who exploit children by manipulating their insecurities.
"This person is your best friend, and they're telling you how beautiful you are and how great your body is and that type of thing,” Peachey said.
Peachey says his investigations have exposed predators convincing children as young as 11 and 12 to share nude photos or videos. Peachey says the compliments are then replaced with threats.
"The next text message they receive is no longer how beautiful you are,” Peachey said. “It's ‘if you don't go in the bathroom and take more photos or videos I'm going to upload these to the internet or I'm going to send them to your parents or I'm going to send them to your school.’”
Peachey says many children have smartphones, but says parents need to remember their kid's phones are really mini computers that are capable of taking high definition photos that children can send to anyone anywhere in the world.
Peachey said parents have to talk to their kids about never taking nude photos and sending them to anyone ever for any reason.
Snell says parents also need to pay close attention to changes in their child's routine, and says if you have suspicions, start asking questions.