A UK newspaper is reporting thatpaedophiles are using the Xbox Live service to “move in on prey.”
The Metro’s front page story for Wednesday 18th April claims that “sexual predators are taking advantage of young people’s willingness to add strangers as online contacts out of a sense of ‘competition’ over their popularity.”
The article, which is accompanied by an image of the original Xbox console, continues: “They are also increasingly likely to use gaming platforms such as Xbox Live to target children, researchers say. Many are spending up to six hours a day on online ‘fishing expeditions’ where they work through up to 200 contacts until they find a vulnerable child willing to interact with them.”
The findings “come from a study of police logs of online conversations as well as 33 interviews with convicted offenders in Britain, Belgium and Norway.”
Microsoft have yet to comment on the story though concerned parents should be aware of the Xbox 360 console parental controls that are in place.
