August 12, 2026 - 204 views
Parents and carers across North Wales are being urged to think about online safety as children spend more time on phones, games and social media during the summer holidays.
The warning comes from North Wales Police’s specialist Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT), which works to identify and catch people who target and exploit children online.
The force says referrals received by OCAIT increased by 145% between 2024 and 2025, highlighting what officers describe as the ever-increasing risks facing young people online.
PC Amit Patel, from OCAIT, says children are being targeted through a range of social media and messaging platforms, including Snapchat, X, Telegram and Discord.
He said officers are constantly adapting their methods as technology develops in order to identify and bring offenders to justice.
With children likely to spend more time online during the summer break, OCAIT is running a safeguarding intensification month throughout August.
Parents and carers are being encouraged to have open and honest conversations with children about the risks of communicating with people they have never met in real life.
They are also being asked to learn about the warning signs of grooming and exploitation.
PC Patel said young people should never feel pressured into sending intimate or nude images.
He warned that once an image has been shared online, it can be extremely difficult to control where it goes or who sees it.
The police are also encouraging parents to check privacy settings and talk to their children about protecting their personal information.
Officers are also raising concerns about the growing use of artificial intelligence to create fake indecent images of children.
Detective Inspector Sofiah Valentine said police are seeing increasingly serious content being created using so-called ‘nudify’ technology and AI chatbots.
Nudify tools can take an innocent photograph and digitally alter it to make the person appear naked or create an indecent image.
Police stress that AI-generated child sexual abuse material is illegal and causes real-world harm.
The Internet Watch Foundation reported a 26,000% increase in AI-generated child sexual abuse material in 2025.
DI Valentine says parents should also think carefully about the photographs they share of their children online.
She warned that seemingly innocent images can potentially be taken and manipulated by offenders.
That includes photographs showing a child's face, body or school uniform.
The police advice is for parents and carers to keep social media accounts private, consider using ‘close friends’ settings and regularly review photographs that have already been posted.
They are also being encouraged to check what photographs have been shared by relatives and friends, and to consider images published by schools, clubs and other organisations.
DI Valentine said online safety is an issue which should concern every parent, adding that the issue goes beyond privacy and is ultimately a matter of child safety.
Anyone concerned that they or a child may have been targeted or exploited online is being encouraged to report their concerns to North Wales Police.
Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers.
Parents looking for advice on preventing child sexual abuse can find information from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.
Young people who have had a sexual image shared online can use Childline's Report Remove service to confidentially report the image and seek support.
Parents and carers can also access guidance from the Internet Watch Foundation and National Crime Agency on the risks associated with AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery.
