Xbox Live is the new chat room according to US authorities cited by the Cincinnati news.
According to the publication's local FBI branch, paedophiles are increasingly using Xbox Live to lurk online and communicate with children playing games.
Though we thought it'd be obvious that any online service with kids present would attract some unwanted visitors.
There are several reports of kids being lured into giving out personal data to paedophiles via Xbox Live, say the feds.
Investigators said a 30-year-old woman used the Xbox 360 online service to send nude photos of herself to a 16-year-old Arizona boy, and then convinced him to send her nude photos of himself.
"A gaming system was used to entice a child into producing child pornography," said FBI forensic examiner Douglas Roden. "Based on my past experience, it's not going to shock me at all if it is for some kind of sexual predatory means."
Another more serious case found that an older man approached a ten-year-old boy online and asked him to provide personal information, including his address.
"Where are the children at? That's where we're going to go; that's where we're going to find them," said Lt. Jeff Braley of Hamilton Township police.
The best defence against gaming paedos, investigators said, is building an "honest relationship between parents and children," so they know who their kids are talking to.
Of course Xbox Live has plenty of parental controls in place, and it's again down to the parents to make sure their kids are safe. Unfortunately, the mummies and daddies in Cincinnati don't seem too clued up...
"We were at first, unaware, of the connection with other people and how vast it was," said parent Michael Gilbert. You'd think they would've paid attention to the Ethernet cable trailing upstairs...
Feb 13, 2008
