Board Manager's Blog (January 2025) Fri 31 Jan 2025

"Protecting Ourselves and Our Communities in a Changing World"

Hello everyone, I'm Darren Minton, your Safeguarding Business Manager. January can often feel like a transition month, returning to routines, facing new challenges, and settling into the year ahead. While the start of a new year brings opportunities, it also brings risks that we all need to be aware of.

Technology is evolving rapidly, making life more convenient but also opening new doors for criminals to exploit unsuspecting people. At the same time, some dangers remain constant, such as the targeting of vulnerable children by criminal networks. Though these issues seem unrelated, they share a common theme: people are being manipulated, deceived, and taken advantage of.

This month, we're shining a light on two key safeguarding concerns:

• AI-driven voice scams, where criminals use artificial intelligence to clone voices and trick people into handing over money or personal information.
• Child criminal exploitation, where young people are groomed and coerced into criminal activity—often without realising the danger they are in.

By staying informed and looking out for one another, we can help protect ourselves, our families, and our communities from these emerging and ongoing threats.

AI Voice Scams: The New Face of Fraud

Technology is evolving at an astonishing rate, and while it brings many positives, it also allows criminals to become more sophisticated in their methods. One alarming development is the rise of AI-powered voice scams, where scammers use artificial intelligence to clone a person's voice and make fraudulent calls that sound eerily real.

Imagine receiving a phone call from a loved one—maybe a grandchild, a sibling, or a friend—who sounds panicked and tells you they're in trouble. They might say they've been in an accident, need urgent financial help, or are stranded somewhere without access to their money. The voice sounds exactly like them, so you naturally believe it. But what if that voice wasn't real?

Scammers are now using AI voice-cloning technology to trick people into handing over money or personal details. With just a short audio sample—perhaps taken from social media, voicemail recordings, or even a video post—AI can mimic a person's voice almost perfectly.

How to Protect Yourself from AI Voice Scams:

✅ Verify the Call: If you receive an unexpected call asking for money or personal details, hang up and call the person back using a known number. Don't assume that it is just because it sounds like them.

✅ Agree on a Safe Word: Have a family password that only close relatives know. If someone calls claiming to be a loved one in distress, ask them to say the password before you engage further.

✅ Limit Personal Audio Content Online: Be mindful of what you share publicly on social media, especially voice recordings or videos. Scammers can use even a few seconds of audio to create convincing imitations.

✅ Stay Up to Date on Scam Trends: Criminals are always adapting their tactics. Keep informed about the latest scams through trusted sources like TechRadar's AI Scam Report or Action Fraud.

These scams rely on panic and urgency—they want to catch you off guard. Taking a moment to pause and verify before reacting can be the difference between protecting yourself and falling victim. But while criminals are using new technology to deceive, others are using fear, pressure, and manipulation to control people in even more harmful ways—particularly young people.

Child Criminal Exploitation: The Hidden Crime Targeting Our Young People

While AI scams prey on confusion and deception, child criminal exploitation (CCE) is built on control, coercion, and fear. It happens when children—often those who are vulnerable or in difficult situations—are drawn into criminal activities by adults who manipulate, threaten, or exploit them.

This might involve:

• County Lines drug trafficking, where children are used to transport or sell drugs.
• Shoplifting or theft, often under pressure from older criminals.
• Carrying or storing weapons for criminal groups.
• Committing acts of violence or intimidation on behalf of gangs.

Many of these young people don't even realise they are victims. They might believe they are part of a group that cares about them, or they may feel trapped, scared, and unable to escape. The people exploiting them often use tactics like gifts, attention, or even friendship to gain trust before gradually introducing criminal behaviour.

Signs a Young Person May Be at Risk of Criminal Exploitation:

• Unexplained Money or Expensive Items: If a young person suddenly has designer clothes, new phones, or cash without a clear source, they may be receiving gifts from exploiters.
• Changes in Behaviour: Becoming withdrawn, aggressive, or secretive about where they are going and who they are with.
• Missing School or Going Missing Overnight: Traveling to different areas, disappearing for periods of time, or being reluctant to explain where they've been.
• Carrying a Knife or Other Weapons: Many exploited children are pressured into carrying weapons for "protection" or gang status.
• Association with Older Individuals: Spending time with older peers or adults who seem to have control over them.

How We Can Protect Young People:

✔️ Talk to Them: Keep communication open and non-judgmental. Let young people know they can come to you if they feel unsafe.

✔️ Report Concerns: If you believe a child is being exploited, you can contact Bradford Children Services  , Bradford Children and Families Trust ,or report concerns to West Yorkshire Police via 999 if it is an emergency. West Yorkshire Police have a dedicated webpage for information on this subject Any child could be exploited by criminals | West Yorkshire Police

✔️ Educate Young People About Grooming Tactics: Help them understand how criminals build trust before exploiting them.

✔️ Seek Support: Organisations like the NSPCC (www.nspcc.org.uk) provide confidential advice for parents, professionals, and young people.

CCE is a crime against children, not a crime by them. Young people drawn into criminal exploitation need support, protection, and a way out—not criminalisation.

Final Thoughts: Staying Aware, Staying Safe

As we move into 2025, safeguarding remains at the heart of everything we do. From new technology-driven scams to age-old criminal tactics, our best defence is awareness, vigilance, and community support. If you take one thing from this blog, let it be this: Pause before you react. Verify before you trust—support before you judge. Let's make 2025 a year where we look out for one another and work together to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.

Stay safe and informed,

Darren Minton

Bradford Safeguarding Partnership Business Unit Manager