Protecting children from 'traps' in cyberspace.

Many risks are involved.

According to the 2024 "Voices of Vietnamese Children" survey by the Institute for Sustainable Development Management Research (MSD) and Save the Children International, 83.9% of surveyed children use mobile phones, and 86.1% use social media.

For children, who lack sufficient knowledge, skills, and experience, participating in online activities can present many risks. Without guidance and close supervision from parents, children may be exposed to and influenced by harmful and toxic information, including obscene, violent, and age-inappropriate content.

On the other hand, children in the adolescent and developmental stage are particularly vulnerable to psychological influences and harm. They constantly seek to prove themselves to their parents, teachers, and peers, making them susceptible to distorted thinking and wrongdoing when exposed to harmful information on social media.

In reality, through the online environment, some children, especially girls in disadvantaged and remote areas, have been lured by unscrupulous individuals with promises of "easy work with high pay," but in fact, they are being trafficked or exploited for their labor. Recently, authorities have promptly prevented several such cases.

Typically, on March 5, 2025, the police of Cau Giat town, Quynh Luu district (Nghe An province) handed over two children, H'Nu B and H'Cat B, to the police of Thong Nhat ward and representatives of Blung 1A hamlet, Buon Ho town, Dak Lak province.

According to their statements, H'Nữ B and H'Cát B followed the advice of an acquaintance they met on social media who invited them to go to the North for "easy work with high pay." This person instructed the two girls to hide their whereabouts from their families and take a bus from Dak Lak to Hanoi.

Enticed by the perpetrator, on the evening of March 3, 2025, the two girls ran away from home and took a bus to Hanoi. On the evening of March 4, upon reaching Cau Giat town (Quynh Luu district), they learned through social media that their family was searching for them. Fearing being trafficked abroad, they proactively contacted their parents. Upon receiving the news, their relatives instructed them to get off the bus and provided a location for them to be picked up. By this time, H'Nu B and H'Cat B had traveled over 1,000 km. Therefore, upon getting off the bus, they were disoriented and panicked.

The Cau Giat town police contacted the Thong Nhat ward police in Buon Ho town, Dak Lak province, to verify the incident. They also arranged accommodation and meals for the children and provided emotional support. Afterward, the Cau Giat town police handed over the two children to the Thong Nhat ward police and representatives from Blung 1A village.

Earlier, at approximately 6:30 PM on December 6, 2024, Team 2 of the Road Traffic Police Department, Nghe An Provincial Police, received a report that in Hoa Dong ward, Thach Giam town, Tuong Duong district, a young girl had been lured away from home to Hai Phong by a stranger on social media. Suspecting she had been deceived, the family reported the incident to Team 2 of the Road Traffic Police, requesting their help in rescuing their daughter. Upon receiving the report from the family, Team 2 of the Road Traffic Police launched an operation and intercepted the suspect on National Highway 7.

At approximately 9 PM on the same day, at Km28 on National Highway 7, Traffic Police Team No. 2 inspected a passenger bus with license plate 15B-038.28 driven by Mr. Tran Quang Tr. (born in 1978), residing in Tay Tien, Tien Hai (Thai Binh). Upon checking information and verifying the number of passengers, they confirmed that one of the passengers was a young girl named Vu Minh Th. (born in 2010), residing in Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province, as reported. At this time, the officers of Traffic Police Team No. 2 explained to Th. the tactics and harmful consequences of human trafficking. Afterward, Th. understood the issue and returned to her family.

However, in reality, not every case is so fortunate. There have been instances where children have been trafficked abroad, suffering both physical and psychological harm before being rescued by authorities or escaping on their own to report their traffickers.

Speaking at a live dialogue program on the prevention and combating of human trafficking, a representative from the Criminal Police Department (Nghe An Provincial Police) stated: "Currently, human trafficking crimes have shifted from direct trafficking to using social media and applying high technology to criminal activities."

Some criminals have fabricated or created false information on social media about affluent and wealthy lives to easily approach, befriend, and gain the trust and admiration of children... then deceive and lure them into acts of trafficking, sexual abuse, and exploitation of child labor.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Security's online portal issued a warning about child abuse in cyberspace. According to the warning, malicious individuals are currently exploiting social media platforms like Facebook, Zalo, Instagram, dating apps (Tinter, Litmarch), virtual chat rooms, and online games (Liên Quân Mobile, PUBG, Free Fire) to approach and message children.

After some time chatting, the perpetrators shifted the topic from school and hobbies to sex and sexuality, luring the children to watch pornographic films and images online, then enticing them to film or photograph themselves in a sexually explicit manner.

After obtaining the images, the perpetrators would extort money or sell the images to other individuals. In addition, some perpetrators would promise romantic relationships, even lend money or give gifts, with the aim of easily approaching and meeting the children in person before committing sexual abuse. In some cases, they even lured the children abroad.

Proactive prevention

In recent times, the protection of children on the Internet has received attention from the Party and the State, mobilizing the entire political system to participate. To protect children in cyberspace, the Government issued Decision No. 830/QD-TTg dated June 1, 2021, "Approving the program for protecting and supporting children's healthy and creative interaction in the online environment for the period 2021-2025".

Accordingly, along with other comprehensive solutions, relevant agencies have coordinated with schools to strengthen propaganda, education, and training for children on self-protection skills and healthy, creative interaction skills in the online environment.

However, given the complex developments in cyberspace, to prevent unfortunate incidents from occurring, it requires the joint efforts of all levels of government, sectors, schools, and families to build a safe and healthy online environment for children; protecting them from fraud, seduction, abuse, bullying, and harmful and toxic information.

The police recommend that parents closely monitor their children's online activities, checking their friend lists and the groups and communities they participate in on social media.

Parents should regularly educate their children about online safety, advising them not to talk to strangers, explaining the dangers of sharing sensitive information, images, and videos on social media, and encouraging them to immediately report any attempts at seduction or threats to their parents or teachers. Furthermore, parents should be cautious when sharing their children's personal information and images online to prevent exploitation by malicious individuals.

Children and teenagers should exercise caution when using social media, avoiding sending sensitive photos or videos of themselves to others (both strangers and acquaintances), and refraining from sharing personal information such as their name, home address, school address, or phone number with strangers. They should be wary of requests for video calls, private photos, or promises of gifts. They should not click on suspicious links, attachments in messages or emails, or questionable social media posts, as these may contain malware or be scams.

Authorities also advise parents and children to regularly update themselves on methods of child abuse in cyberspace and preventive measures. If they notice signs that their child is being abused or defrauded, they should immediately stop all transactions, save evidence (messages, screenshots), and report it to the nearest police station for timely action.

In addition, parents need to understand, comply with, and guide their children in accessing the content of the Code of Conduct on protecting children in the online environment, in order to contribute to protecting and supporting children's healthy and creative interaction in the online environment. At the same time, it is important to raise awareness of the risks children face when engaging in online activities.