Online Predators - Statistics

You probably want to know if online predators are common and if this sort of thing happens often. Here are some interesting facts about online sexual predators:

These are some typical methods online predators use:

• Approximately 93 percent of all Americans between 12 and 17 years old are internet users (as of 2007)^[i]
  
  
• One in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet says they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web. Solicitations were defined as requests to engage in sexual activities or sexual talk, or to give out personal sexual information. (only 25% of those told a parent) ^[ii]
  
  
• About 30% of the victims of Internet sexual exploitation are boys.
  
  
• Internet sexual predators tend to fall between the ages of 18 and 55, although some are older or younger. Their targets tend to be between the ages of 11 and 15
  
  
• In 100% of the cases, teens that are the victims of sexual predators have gone willingly to meet with them^[iii].
  
  
• There are over 644,865 Registered Sex Offenders in the United States (2008)^[iv].
  
  
• Teens are willing to meet with strangers: 16 percent of teens considered meeting someone they've only talked to online and 8 percent have actually met someone they only knew online^[v].
  
  
• 75% of children are willing to share personal information online about themselves and their family in exchange for goods and services^[vi].