Signs a child may be trafficked

What to look for

• Minors travelling with an adult who does not appear to be family and seems controlling; the child avoids questions or gives brief, scripted replies.
• Numerous inconsistencies in their stories.
• A child who is always escorted, especially by different adults; or minors travelling alone without appropriate supervision.
• Fake identification or lying about age.
• Clothing that is wrong for the child's age or the climate, or excessive clothes, accessories or makeup used as a disguise.
• Carrying extra clothes in a backpack or large handbag; excessive cash, jewellery or expensive items.
• Children in adult venues or out alone at odd hours: late at night, after hours, or during school time.
• Signs of physical abuse: limited food and water, limited medical or dental care, sleep deprivation, bruises, cuts, burns and injuries.
• Children who avoid eye contact, appear scared, anxious or uncomfortable, rarely smile, appear submissive, twitch, fidget, bite nails, pick at skin or pull hair.
• Quickly leaving or being rushed away when seen, approached or spoken to.
• Children who seem dazed, confused, sedated or unaware of their surroundings or who they are with.
• Children who are not allowed to speak for themselves or seem to have rehearsed lines.
• Significant behavioural change: anxiety, depression, aggression, loss of zest for life, changes in appetite or personality.
• Disconnection from community, family and friends; stopping school, missing classes or doing poorly.
• Self-harm, cutting or excessive piercing; tattoos, branding or burns.
• Unstable living arrangements and no personal belongings.
• Hotel guests with no luggage who frequently visit the same hotel without a reservation and hold multiple room keys.
• Loitering in hallways, exits, malls, parking lots or lobbies, especially in hotels; someone standing guard outside a room or house while others come and go.
• Bars on windows, padlocks on doors, shades always drawn, or other features that make a building resemble a prison.

Coded language

Traffickers and the people around them use coded language, and knowing it helps you recognise a situation for what it is. The DHS Blue Campaign and the National Human Trafficking Hotline publish the terms that law enforcement and survivors report most often, including words for the people who control victims, the areas where victims are moved, the nightly amounts victims are forced to earn, and the tattoos or brands used to mark ownership.

If you suspect a child is being trafficked

• Call 911 if a child is in danger right now, or contact your local law enforcement agency or FBI field office. Tips to the FBI: 1-800-225-5324.
• Homeland Security Investigations: 866-347-2423.
• National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888, or text BeFree to 233733.
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC): 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST), or report online at report.cybertip.org.

Be able to describe in detail

• Who you saw: a description of the child and the adult or adults with them.
• What you saw: the vehicle, licence plate, make and model, building, or social-media account.
• When you saw it: the day and time.
• Where it happened.
• Why it seemed suspicious.

If your child has been targeted online

• Stop using the phone immediately and put it in airplane mode so data cannot be removed remotely.
• Secure other devices such as tablets and laptops.
• Contact the authorities listed above.
• Report any suspicious social-media accounts to the platform and to law enforcement.

Be proactive

• Download the free FBI Child ID app. It stores updated photos and a physical description of your child so you can send them to authorities immediately if your child goes missing.
• Regularly check the local and national offender registries at NSOPW.gov and alert your family and friends.
• Check your children's phones, tablets and computers often. Make it a priority.
• Use monitoring and parental control apps such as Bark, Net Nanny and Qustodio.
• Be open and honest with your children about the dangers of the internet, social media, apps and online games. Monitoring is not an invasion of privacy; it is a non-negotiable safety precaution.