Looking for some assistance. Have a situation where a group text my daughter, 12yrs old, is in with friends from school had a pornographic photo sent to the group. Aside from blocking and moving on (already done that) and trying to call the number myself (they won't answer), I am more concerned in finding out who it came from. Kid in the group said it was from his old number.

Looking online, there seems to be a bunch of sites that you can pay for information, but there's also a ton of information that says it is nearly impossible to cancel the charges from those sites.

Looking for either some assistance in finding the true number owner's name or a site that is "best" to use.

You blocked and deleted the number.

Now you get a chance to discuss the dangers of the internet, cell phones, etc.

Teachable moment and move along, no?

Already done that. I'm more under the thigh and impression that this number is still within the family and the kid that said it was someone else isn't telling the truth.

Technical question.

If the number was a friends 'old number' then the assumption is the number was re-assigned to a new customer by the cell company?

In that case, I can see the old number being recognized as their friend when a text pops up from that number if they still have it saved in their phones. But unless the person on the other end with the new number actually has the friend's physical device with said friend's contact list… how would they know your child, and their other friends, phone numbers?

Send the number a text and tell them you've been following them for 2 weeks and the next chance you get, you're going to beat them half to death. At least they'll be a nervous wreck for quite sometime.

PM me the number. I'll look it up on white pages premium and send you the owner's name.

There are companies that make phones specifically for kids. Phones that aren't smart, don't have screens, and can't send/receive photos.

Something that's always stuck with me was this saying (don't know origin of quote):

"Don't give you child a smart phone/device until you're ready for them to see pornography".

It's unavoidable with smart devices and internet access. So either accept the risk and talk to your kids about it, while monitoring use like the OP did, or change the device.

I get wanting kids to have phones. Communication, safety, tracking, school apps, etc.

But it opens up the entire world of darkness on the web…

There are two sides to this. The receiver and the sender.

There's the side that has been handled which involves the OP telling his daughter "The internet is full of dark and dangerous things."

The sender needs to be dealt with. I don't believe the "it was somebody else". They shouldn't have access to the group text and his kids number.

Either this kid whose number sent the offending images gave his phone full of kids information to a bad player or he did it himself.

Thats a breakdown of trust either way. If my kid is going to continue to be friends with that kid, there will be a conversation between me and their parents otherwise my kid will not be allowed to hang out with them. End of story. My kids friends parents and I understand that there is some social obligation to morality and this incident should be considered over the line.

TexasAGGIEinAR said:

---

Send the number a text and tell them you've been following them for 2 weeks and the next chance you get, you're going to beat them half to death. At least they'll be a nervous wreck for quite sometime.

---

If this guy doesn't get results send me the number

TheTexaspi@gmail.com

Just sent you an email since I can't PM. Appreciate the help.

As to the kid whose old phone number sent the offending text, give his dad a call and discuss with him.

I've used spydialer for years for free, but they've recently started blurring out all but the first letter of the last name. Might be enough for your purposes though.

https://www.spydialer.com/

You can set phones to only accept calls/texts from contacts saved to your phone already. Probably a good idea to do this for your kids.

Keep us updated. I too am in the camp that the text came from the kid's phone, or someone with access to that phone.

bdgol07 said:

---

Just sent you an email since I can't PM. Appreciate the help.

---

Received. I'm working on a high profile surveillance out of town for the last few days. I'll be home tonight and can look into it then or first thing in the morning.

Thank you sir. I appreciate it

FSGuide said:

---

bdgol07 said:

---

Just sent you an email since I can't PM. Appreciate the help.

---

Received. I'm working on a high profile surveillance out of town

---

I knew it!

If this occurred in Texas, it is against the law to send anyone unsolicited nudes. If the person knowingly sent the unsolicited nudes to minors, that is a completely different crime.

Have you contacted law enforcement yet?

Quick Update:

FSGuide was not able to pull the information of the cell phone user unfortunately (reason why coming later). I did contact local PD and spoke to an officer and a detective. They too were unable to pull the information as it appears to be a VOIP number (more details below). Since there is not a person to charge with sending unsolicited pictures, I turned the conversation to needing to be an old school parent to parent discussion at this point.

I called the mom and spoke to her trying to give the kid the benefit of the doubt as facts were discovered. She claimed that the kid hadn't had his phone for 2wks, not true as he started the text group on Monday, 1wk prior. I spoke to her at length in regards to the details of the concerns I had. She also let me know that she had been contacted by at least one other parent that had a daughter in the text group. She was "momming" and protecting her kid and not truthful IMO, so I was not satisfied with our discussion. She was out of town on business and let me know that her husband, a Houston PD Detective, would be reaching out that evening for further discussion after he got home and was able to look into it himself.

He let me know that the kid had created a fake number in an app called "2nd line" in order to prank his friends with gifs and memes but had deleted the app a few months prior, which the dad was aware of that timeline and confirmed. The kid's phone is on full lockdown according to the father with a Google product that they pay for now (I cannot remember that detail as we are an iPhone family). He was able to see multiple texts from that same number to his kid with explicit sexual phrases, emoji combinations, and requests along with words in Korean randomly. What he believed, and me to an extent, happened, when he had the app, the contacts he messaged were saved as it was a spyware-esque app. Once he messaged that number, the number became live again or was already in use, and the user began sending inappropriate messages to the group and the kid. The line of texts and verbiage are just not something that I believe a 12yr old would know, but I am still not fully on board about the iteration of the events.

All in all, this was a huge eye opening experience for our 12yr old daughter and there are now new rules that she has to follow in order to keep her phone as is and some that she will not be able to have changed. I appreciate all the verbal support, this should be a situation that ends with a positive learning experience for us and our daughter as well as the other kids and parents involved. Our daughter was given the option to discontinue talks with the kid since he is no longer at the school and she chose to do so, which shows maturity and aligns with our wishes. She now knows the dangers are not just from outside, but can also be from "friends" numbers as well.

TLDR: Pic likely didnt come from kid, but an oversees app based user that spoofed or took over a VOIP number. Lessons learned and new rules in place in the bdgol07 household as protecting my kids is priority #1.

As a parent to two preteen girls, thank you for the updates. I appreciate it. His dad being a detective definitely complicates the matter a ton. I feel like you did a great job parenting through the situation