Darren Jamieson: On today’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer, I’m going to have to give a bit of a trigger warning, because I am speaking with a guy called Christopher Duff.
And there’s no easy way to say this: Christopher would pose online as a child to catch predators.
So, I’m going to be speaking to Christopher about his time working within law enforcement, where he would create profiles of children to catch predators who were trying to get children to do the things that predators try to get children to do.
I’ll be talking with him about some stories—about people he put away—and how he managed to do what he did and still sleep at night, with all the horrors and evils of the world that he discovered, but also helped get off the streets.
Again, this is going to be a bit of a trigger warning. There is some stuff in here, particularly for parents, that you may not want to hear—but quite frankly, you absolutely should.
Darren Jamieson: So, Chris, you and I have a similar interest, I believe, in—I don’t know—the dark part of the web. The dark part of cyber.
You’ve seen my TEDx talk on exposing a cyberbully, and you yourself did this—not just as an amateur like me—you did this professionally. You did this for a career. And you probably uncovered a number of very seedy people doing this.
What got you into that role in the first place?
Christopher Duff: Yeah, that’s a good question.
My law enforcement career really started… I volunteered to be a reserve uniform patrol deputy, and I patrolled the streets of where I lived. I was newly married, and we had a child on the way.
Well, that was when I started with the Attorney General’s office. I did that for about five years and became best friends with—who is still to this day—my best friend. He was an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Louisiana, and he was building one of the first high-tech crime units in the country.
He was also an attorney. And he said, “Look man, I need your help. Help me build this thing.”
So, I went in and started working with him in a reserve capacity.
The very first night I got online posing as a child—I built my first online undercover profile. Of course, before that, I went through some training.
But that very first night I actually went live online, posing as a child—I posed as a 13-year-old female in the beginning—it was almost immediate. Literally in the first 30 minutes, I had predators contacting me, trying to get me to send them images—graphic images. Them exposing themselves to me.
So, it was just one of those paradigm shifts we go through in life. One minute, I saw life in one way, and in another minute, it just exposed this whole new world to me.
[0:05:30]
Christopher Duff: I think the biggest thing that really hit me was how alone our children are in cyberspace—and what they face on a daily basis. From that moment on, I was like, “They’re so alone, and there’s no one protecting them.” So it became kind of an obsession to get online and protect our youth.
Darren Jamieson: How prepared were you for what you saw?
Christopher Duff: I wasn’t. Mentally? I don’t know if anybody can really be prepared, just being completely honest.
Prepared as far as training and all? I was good—I was prepared. But as far as what I saw? It completely shocked me. I wasn’t… I had been warned ahead of time, right? But you know, that’s kind of like any massive experience in life—you’re never truly prepared. It hits you square in the face.
Again, it was this paradigm-shifting moment that, from then till this day—and this was back in 2005, 2006—when all of this was really burgeoning. You know, the internet and what our kids were really starting to experience…
Here’s the thing—and I’m sure we’ll get to this part—it’s worse today.
[0:06:47]
Darren Jamieson: So, back then—2005, 2006—Facebook was just starting to emerge. Twitter didn’t exist. MySpace was relatively big back then.
What platforms were you using to create these profiles?
Christopher Duff: We would create them in chat rooms—where you could communicate one-on-one with other people. We used a myriad of different chat rooms.
To be honest with you, it’s been that long ago that I don’t remember the specific chat rooms, because they changed so much—year to year anyway. But we were on many different platforms.
Here’s a blanket statement I’d give to parents:
Anywhere you can communicate with someone who’s not in your immediate world—a stranger, or someone pretending to be someone else—predators are there.
When I would give presentations—and I’ve given them to thousands of students and parents over the years—I’d say:
“If your child can communicate with a stranger, whether it be in a game, social media, or anything else—predators are there.”
[0:07:55]
Darren Jamieson: Wow. How many children do you think you’ve saved from something worse happening to them because of what you’ve done?
Christopher Duff: That’s an interesting question.
My best friend and I were literally discussing that the other day. I don’t even know if it’s quantifiable.
In my first year, I arrested over 80 internet predators. I was serving search warrants two to three times a week. They were literally telling me to slow down because I was so obsessed with putting these people in jail.
But even so, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the number of kids we may have saved through presentations—opening their eyes.
The thing that really blew my mind was when I gave those presentations, I’d show the kids my undercover profiles. I’d show them—within reason—what we were exposed to. Not too graphic. We had a different presentation for students and a more detailed one for parents.
[0:08:56]
Christopher Duff: And I used to think, “The kids aren’t going to listen. They’re young teenagers. They won’t care.”
But as I went through that hour-long presentation, you could see their eyes—wide as saucers. They were totally engaged. Afterward, there would be a line of students waiting to talk to me.
What that told me was: our youth don’t have a conduit to talk about these issues. Whether it’s cyberbullying, online solicitation, sextortion—whatever it is—they don’t have anyone to talk to.
One of the biggest problems is this generational gap between parents and kids.
[0:09:52]
Christopher Duff: Our kids are raised with phones in their hands. That’s how they communicate, socialize—it’s their whole world.
Most parents are gravely undereducated about how the online world works. And their kids know that.
I’d ask in my presentations: “Raise your hand if you know more about the internet than your parents.”
Almost every single hand goes up.
Darren Jamieson: Of course. Yeah.
Christopher Duff: So, going back to your question—how many kids did we save?
The number of kids who came up and said, “I’m going home and deleting all my accounts. I’m setting everything to private. I’m renewing all my stuff…” — it’s a large number.
[0:10:30]
Darren Jamieson: When you were doing this, how big was the department? How many people like you were there doing it?
Christopher Duff: That’s another big issue—then and now—because of funding.
When I was doing it, our high-tech crime unit probably had, in total—and I’m including forensic investigators and field agents—maybe eight people.
That’s it. For the whole unit.
You’ve got half of those doing forensics—analyzing computers and phones—and maybe two or three of us in the field actually doing proactive and reactive undercover work, plus one or two supervisors.
And to be honest with you, agencies today? It’s the same. Law enforcement is stretched thin. Every agency across the country is stretched.
We need a high-tech investigator in every sheriff’s department and every police department. Not just at the Department of Justice level. Those state-level agencies are great, but local departments need funding so they can have someone focused on these crimes too.
Darren Jamieson: So those eight people—was that for the whole state?
Christopher Duff: Yes. The whole state.
Darren Jamieson: Jesus.
I’m curious—what kind of people were you uncovering and arresting? What sort of age ranges were they? What walks of life?
Christopher Duff: Every walk of life.
I’ve arrested youth ministers, police officers, firemen, teachers, pastors, educators—you name it. Every occupation.
We didn’t discriminate. If you’re a child predator, you’re going to jail. That’s just how we looked at it.
And remember, we were pioneers back then. We had to lobby to get those eight people. It was just starting to become a recognized problem.
Back then, most of the world didn’t even know it was an issue. The internet was a playground for predators—they knew they were untouchable.
[0:12:34]
Christopher Duff: As for age ranges? It was the full gamut—from young adults to 60, 70 years old.
Darren Jamieson: And I’ve got to ask about the crimes too.
Presumably, these people weren’t just messaging who they thought was a child. When the investigations happened, and you found who they were—there must’ve been other things they’d done?
Christopher Duff: Absolutely.
The ultimate fear—and this drove us—was always the potential of kicking in a door, serving a warrant, and finding a child in the back room. Abused. Tied up. Or worse.
Because that’s the reality. You’re dealing with child predators—pedophiles. Many of them are actively abusing children, or have done so in the past.
[0:13:42]
Christopher Duff: We arrested many who were either actively abusing children or were repeat offenders. I remember one case in particular…
The person we arrested was grooming, taking pictures, and what we believed—planning to abduct a child in the trailer park where he lived.
He had been arrested for child pornography before—just released six months earlier. When we got there, he had images of a child that lived in the same trailer park. He’d been sneaking around, taking pictures through windows.
He had a “rape kit”—a Ziploc bag with duct tape, items from the child. He was planning something.
Darren Jamieson: Jesus.
Christopher Duff: In that case, we knew for a fact—we saved a child. That arrest prevented something horrific. And who knows what nightmares we prevented. But we put him away.
Darren Jamieson: When you’re doing these investigations, what’s the legal process for trapping someone? What did you have to be careful about?
Christopher Duff: Great question.
One of the biggest roles I played was training law enforcement agencies on how to do these investigations correctly—because of legalities like entrapment.
You remember the show To Catch a Predator? Huge on TV. But we didn’t want those kinds of cases to get thrown out in court.
So I would teach: You don’t lead them on. You don’t entrap. You don’t have to.
[0:20:00]
Darren Jamieson: And how long were you doing this?
Christopher Duff: At the Attorney General’s office, I was there for just about two years. But after that, I started nonprofits. I went out and trained law enforcement agencies all over the country.
So I’ve been doing this now for over 20 years—still helping, just not in the same role.
Darren Jamieson: I was wondering—how do you shut off? How do you tune this out at the end of the day? Because this is something that’s very difficult to get off your mind.
Christopher Duff: That’s a great question.
In fact, the FBI has a division—I believe it’s called “Innocent Images.” That’s their unit that handles these kinds of cases. They only let people work in that department for about two years.
Because the mental toll? It’s awful. It messes with you.
You can’t do it for too long. You get angry. You get burned out. It starts changing you.
And the truth is, you don’t really turn it off. It stays with you.
It’s like PTSD. It’s traumatic. You see what some of these kids—and babies—are subjected to in child pornography, and it never leaves you.
No human should have to see that. It’s the worst of the worst. It’s pure evil.
I used to say this in my presentations: No matter what your belief system is, we can all agree—there is evil in this world. Period.
And if you don’t believe it, then you’re sticking your head in the sand.
If you don’t believe that people hunt, abuse, and manipulate children—if you don’t think that’s evil—then you may be part of the problem.
[0:22:00]
Christopher Duff: When I got out of direct law enforcement, I started a nonprofit called Innocent Eyes. That was my way of continuing the mission.
We’d go around educating people—parents, schools, law enforcement—trying to wake people up. Because most parents have no idea what their kids are facing online.
They think, “My kid’s just chatting with friends.”
No. They’re targets.
Darren Jamieson: Yeah, I saw that in your TEDx talk—about fake profiles and how predators build trust.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. And this is one of the most important things I want to drive home for parents and kids.
I used to say this in my presentations:
When you think of an online predator, you think it’ll be obvious. Like, “I would know if some creepy 60-year-old guy messaged me.”
But predators don’t show up like that. They build fake profiles. If they’re targeting boys, they pose as young girls. And vice versa.
They go online, build entire libraries of photos, fake accounts, and content—just to manipulate someone.
[0:25:00]
Christopher Duff: Predators will build entire fake identities. Let’s say they’re targeting a 14-year-old boy—they’ll pose as a 14-year-old girl. They’ll create fake profiles with pictures, videos, bios, and even fake mutual friends.
They’ll say, “A friend of mine told me about you,” or, “I think I saw you at the game the other night.” Something that makes them seem local and relatable.
They start with harmless chats—
“Hey, I’m going to the beach this weekend. Want to see a picture of me in my swimsuit?”
Then:
“Now you send me one of you.”
Christopher Duff: It seems innocent at first, but it’s manipulation. It’s grooming. It escalates step by step.
Eventually, they get a child to send something graphic. And then comes the flip.
“I’m not who I said I was. I have your photos. If you don’t do what I tell you, I’m sending these to your family, your school, your friends.”
Christopher Duff: This is what sextortion looks like. And kids can’t handle it. They’re 13, 14 years old—they panic. They feel like their life is over.
And sadly, this has led to suicides.
Darren Jamieson: It’s terrifying. But from a technical standpoint, it’s also calculated. It’s psychological. If it weren’t so evil, it’d be impressive how efficient it is.
Christopher Duff: It’s very deliberate. It’s a playbook.
I use this example in talks: Where does a hunter go to find the animal they’re hunting? Where does a fisherman go to catch fish?
They don’t just walk into the woods or toss a line anywhere. They scout, they plan, they set bait.
Predators do the same thing. They study kids. They figure out how to trap them.
Christopher Duff: These aren’t random creeps. They’re intelligent. They’re strategic.
They’re human. They plan. And they’re patient.
Darren Jamieson: And today, it’s not just chatrooms. Back when you started, there was barely Facebook. But now—with smartphones—kids have 24/7 access to predators.
It’s in their pocket. It’s constant. What are your thoughts on how social media platforms are handling this today?
Christopher Duff: Not well. Not well enough.
Our kids have access to the most graphic, disturbing things in the world—instantly. They carry phones with cameras and internet access everywhere they go.
And platforms? They haven’t caught up.
[0:28:00]
Christopher Duff: I still talk with people in the field—people running investigations right now. And here’s what’s happening:
Years ago, if you wanted to investigate someone, you had to get a search warrant, submit it to a platform, wait for them to give you user data, IP addresses, logs.
Now, these companies—Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok—they’ve automated it.
They’ve set systems that flag anything potentially illegal or graphic and dump it straight to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) database.
They’re not vetting it. They’re just forwarding it.
Sounds proactive, right? But it’s overwhelming law enforcement.
ICAC is flooded. Agencies can only respond to about 20% of what they receive. They have to focus on the worst of the worst.
The other 80%? It just sits there.
Darren Jamieson: And they’re over-flagging. Like, Facebook blocked a childhood photo I posted of myself because it picked up too much skin tone.
If platforms are flagging innocent stuff, how are investigators supposed to find real predators?
Christopher Duff: Exactly. False positives waste time. They bury the threats in a mountain of irrelevant material.
And predators don’t use public feeds. They’re using DMs, games, disappearing messages—spaces no one sees.
So yes—some protocols help. But overall, predators adapt faster than platforms protect.
[0:30:00]
Darren Jamieson: Can they even manually sift through all those reports to find the worst of the worst?
I mean, take Facebook as an example: they’ll block a fitness trainer just for posting a photo in a sports bra. I’ve had childhood pictures of myself flagged. So if they’re flagging innocent stuff like that, they must be sending loads of false positives.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. And full disclosure—I’m not a technical expert on their internal processes. But I can tell you from experience, yes, there are loads of false positives.
And the result? It drains resources. It diverts attention. It overwhelms the system.
But here’s the bigger point: predators don’t care about getting flagged. They’re not posting public images—they’re targeting kids in private.
Christopher Duff: Their goal isn’t to upload something and hope nobody sees it—it’s to talk to kids. To get into their messages. Their chats. Their games.
And that’s what these systems still don’t catch.
This is why I started doing educational presentations. That’s how we reach the most kids and protect them before it even happens.
Because here’s the truth: law enforcement can’t keep up.
So we have to educate parents. We have to educate kids. If we can teach them how not to become victims, we can stop this before it even starts.
Darren Jamieson: What should parents do? I mean, a lot of them don’t know how the internet works. They might have parental controls on the TV, but they don’t know how to actually use them. And their kids are smarter than them when it comes to tech.
So how can they protect their kids?
Christopher Duff: Great question.
The first thing I’d tell any parent: go into the settings on your child’s phone. Every smartphone has parental controls. You can restrict what apps they use, whether they can use the camera, who they can message, what they can download.
There are thousands of YouTube videos showing exactly how to do it—step by step.
But here’s the important part: you have to take a real-world approach.
Parents always want to throw the phone in a lake after they hear me speak. But that’s not realistic. Every kid is going to have a phone.
So what you do is scale the restrictions based on age and maturity. A 13-year-old should not have access to a private camera in the bathroom, or be able to message random people online.
One of the first things predators do is convince kids to go somewhere private and take a photo. That’s their first move.
So lock down the ability to send or receive images, or message people outside of approved contacts. Most phones have these settings.
Darren Jamieson: Can those parental controls really stop kids from messaging people outside of their contacts? Say, if a kid uses WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger, or Instagram—can it block all of that?
Christopher Duff: Not 100%. Let’s be honest—kids are smart. They’ll find workarounds. And predators are just as crafty.
But yes—controls have gotten better.
For example, on iPhones, you can stop kids from downloading new apps altogether. You can build an “always allowed” list of apps they’re allowed to use, and block the rest.
Christopher Duff: My kids begged me for years to get Snapchat. I said no.
Why? Because it deletes messages. I’m not letting my kids use a platform where I can’t see what’s being said.
They’d say, “But Dad, everyone’s on Snapchat!”
And I’d say, “I’m not everyone’s dad. I’m your dad. I protect you.”
Darren Jamieson: Snapchat is terrifying. My daughter—she’s an adult now—but she used to track her sister’s location using Snapchat’s GPS features. And her sister had no idea.
So if your kid has Snapchat, and location tracking is on, strangers could see exactly where they are at all times.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. And I’ll give you a real story about that…
There was a girl talking to a predator. She thought she was talking to a boy her age. They were “in love.” His name was Billy, supposedly.
Well, one day at school, a man shows up and says he’s Billy’s father.
He knew exactly where she was. He knew her class schedule—when she’d be alone.
He told her Billy had been in a car accident and was asking for her.
She almost went with him.
Luckily, a school resource officer saw something was off, stepped in, and questioned it.
Turns out—Billy didn’t exist. The man who showed up? He was the predator. He had been posing as Billy the entire time.
If that officer hadn’t intervened, that girl would’ve been abducted right from school.
[0:35:00]
Christopher Duff: That one story shows how sophisticated these predators are. It wasn’t some random guy in a trench coat on a street corner. This guy studied her, tracked her schedule, knew her location—he planned everything.
You’ve got to think like a predator to understand how dangerous they really are.
Darren Jamieson: She’d have been taken right out of school, and no one would have even known she was gone until hours later. Everyone would have assumed she was safe.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. And that’s why education is critical.
Now imagine—what if that girl had been taught:
“Don’t believe anything just because someone says it online. Don’t go with a stranger, even if they know your name. Even if they seem to know everything about you.”
That could’ve changed everything.
If she had been educated, she might’ve said:
“This doesn’t feel right. I’m getting help.”
But here’s the problem: most kids don’t know. And most parents aren’t talking to them about it.
Why? Because parents assume: “My kid’s smart. They’d never fall for that.”
But predators aren’t hunting adults. They’re not hunting people who know better. They’re targeting kids—who are emotionally vulnerable, insecure, looking for connection.
That’s what they exploit.
And we, as parents, have to stop pretending we’re immune. I always tell my kids:
“Look, I’ve been a teenager. I know what it’s like to want to be accepted. I’ve made mistakes too.”
If your kids think you’ll judge them, or punish them, they won’t come to you when something’s wrong.
We need to be people our kids can talk to. If they’ve made a mistake, if they’ve sent a picture, if someone’s threatening them—we want them to come to us, not hide it in shame.
That’s how you prevent tragedy.
Darren Jamieson: Exactly. And as they grow older, we can’t police them 24/7. But if they’re educated, if they know what to watch for, they can protect themselves better.
Christopher Duff: That’s exactly it. We can’t always hold their hand—but we can prepare them.
And now, with AI entering the mix… it’s about to get even more dangerous.
Darren Jamieson: How so?
Christopher Duff: AI is amazing. I love it in many ways. But it’s also terrifying—especially in the wrong hands.
Imagine a predator who’s tech-savvy. He can now use AI to create fake videos. Fake images. Fake profiles that look incredibly real.
He doesn’t need to steal someone else’s photos anymore. He can just generate the perfect teen boy or girl—images, voice, even video.
Let’s say he wants to trick a 14-year-old girl. He uses AI to generate videos of a cute boy at a football game, or at school, or FaceTiming.
To a kid, it looks real. There’s no way to know it’s fake.
That’s the power AI brings to predators.
Darren Jamieson: And soon they’ll be able to do live video calls where they replace their face in real time with a fake teenage avatar.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. That’s already one of the first things predators ask when they’re grooming someone: “Go live with me.”
They want to prove the kid is real—and make sure they’re not talking to an undercover cop.
So imagine when predators can go live with a fake face and voice. The kid thinks they’re FaceTiming with another teen—but it’s a grown man behind the screen.
This is why I never let my kids keep their phones in their rooms overnight. Ever.
They’d plug their phones in my bedroom. If they needed their phone, they’d have to wake me up to get it.
Why? Because at 3 a.m., kids make bad choices. That’s when predators strike.
Darren Jamieson: That’s great advice. It doesn’t just apply to predators—it applies to bullying too. If your child is being harassed, that shouldn’t follow them into the night.
Taking away the phone overnight can give them peace.
[0:40:00]
Christopher Duff: Exactly. And that’s just it—if your child is being bullied online, or targeted by a predator, and they have their phone in bed at 3 a.m., it doesn’t stop.
There’s no break. They’re never safe. The only way to protect them is to physically remove access.
It might seem like a small thing—having them plug the phone in your room—but it makes a huge difference.
And it sends the message: “I care. I’m involved. I’m protecting you, even when you don’t see it.”
Darren Jamieson: So what about parents who feel overwhelmed—who don’t know where to start?
What’s the first step they should take?
Christopher Duff: First, understand this: your child is probably talking to people you don’t know. They’re communicating with strangers. They’re using platforms you’ve never even heard of.
And that’s okay. That’s not a reason to panic. But it is a reason to act.
Start with the parental controls on their phones. Every major phone—iPhone, Android—has built-in restrictions.
You can block apps, restrict downloads, turn off messaging outside of approved contacts, limit camera use, even control screen time.
And you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Go on YouTube. Search: “How to set parental controls on iPhone.” There are hundreds of step-by-step videos.
But here’s what I tell every parent: being proactive doesn’t mean being paranoid. It means parenting.
Don’t just hand your kid a smartphone like it’s a toy. Treat it like what it is—a dangerous, powerful device. Like handing them the keys to a car.
Darren Jamieson: That’s such a good analogy. We wouldn’t hand the keys to a car to a 12-year-old and say, “Just don’t crash.” But that’s what we do with smartphones.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. And I’ve had people—judges even—say, “Well, show me how this works.”
One time, a judge was skeptical about signing a search warrant. He said, “Show me what you’re seeing.”
So I brought in my laptop, logged into my undercover profile, and within five minutes—I had a predator messaging me.
The judge was stunned. He said, “From now on, you bring me anything like this, I’ll help you get what you need.”
That’s how common it is. That’s how fast it happens.
So yes—my own kids were contacted by predators. Of course. Every kid is. It’s that prevalent.
And if it’s happening in my house—a guy who did this for 20 years—then it’s happening in everyone’s house.
Darren Jamieson: That’s chilling. But also empowering—because it means there are steps we can take. There are ways to stay ahead of this.
Christopher Duff: Absolutely.
It’s not about being scared—it’s about being equipped.
If your child has access to the internet, then predators have access to them. Period.
And unless you’ve taught your kids how to identify it—how to say no, how to tell you what’s happening—they’re going to fall into it.
I’ve had kids come up to me after presentations—eyes wide—and say, “I had no idea. I thought I was just talking to someone from school.”
And I’d say, “Who was it? Show me.”
Half the time, it wasn’t anyone from school at all.
But the profile said they went to a nearby school, or knew a mutual friend. That was enough.
That’s all it takes.
And these predators? They don’t stop. They message hundreds of kids until one bites.
And that’s what people don’t get—it’s not random. It’s methodical. It’s targeted.
[0:45:00]
Christopher Duff: So what do they do?
They send out messages to hundreds of kids. If 99 say no, they don’t care. They just need one to respond. One to say, “Hey.” One to take the bait.
And once they get that, the grooming starts.
That’s why it’s so important for parents to understand where their kids are online. What apps they’re using. Who they’re talking to.
And not in a controlling, Big Brother kind of way—but in a parenting way.
Just like you’d ask who they’re going out with, who their friends are—you need to ask the same thing about their online life.
And you need to dig a little deeper. Because kids will say things like, “Oh, it’s just someone from school.”
But you have to follow up with: “Okay, who exactly? What’s their name? What grade are they in? Do I know their parents?”
That’s being a parent.
Darren Jamieson: And the scary thing is, a lot of the time… it’s not someone from school. It’s not someone local. It’s someone pretending to be.
Christopher Duff: Absolutely. I’ve caught my own kids talking to people they weren’t supposed to. And it turned out—predators.
In my house.
Now thankfully, it didn’t go far. They didn’t establish a relationship. But the fact that those people got in… that tells you how common it is.
Most people think: “This won’t happen to my child.”
It’s not about if. It’s about when.
Predators are everywhere. They’re messaging every kid—not just vulnerable ones, not just at-risk ones. All kids.
Darren Jamieson: You mentioned earlier how you’d even show judges how fast it happens. That must have been eye-opening for them.
Christopher Duff: Yes, and it blew their minds.
I’d go into the judge’s chambers with my laptop, log in to one of my undercover child profiles, and I’d have a predator talking to me in five minutes.
No exaggeration.
They’d say, “Okay, you’ve got my full support. Bring me every case you have.”
Because until you see it—until you experience it—you don’t believe how rampant it is.
I’d tell them: “If it’s this easy for me, it’s this easy for any child online.”
Darren Jamieson: And kids think they’re safe. They think, “I’d know if someone was dodgy.” But predators don’t show up in trench coats anymore. They show up as 14-year-olds with shared interests and mutual friends.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. They’ve evolved. They’re not stupid.
They’re strategic. They’re patient. And they play the long game.
They learn your child’s schedule. They learn what makes them tick. They look for the insecure ones—the ones who are isolated, lonely, struggling for connection.
And they fill that emotional gap. They tell them what they want to hear. They give them attention, affection, validation.
And then they flip it—into manipulation, fear, control.
And if that child doesn’t have a safe adult to talk to, they spiral.
Darren Jamieson: Because they think they’ll be blamed. Or punished. Or shamed.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. So we have to create an environment where kids know:
“Hey, if something happens, you can come to me. You should come to me. And I’m not going to freak out or punish you—I’m going to help you.”
That one message can save lives.
We can’t control everything online. But we can teach our kids how to spot danger. How to get help. How to say no.
That’s how we win.
[0:50:00]
Darren Jamieson: So, from everything we’ve talked about—if a parent’s listening to this and feeling overwhelmed—what should they be doing right now?
What’s one practical thing they can go and do today?
Christopher Duff: Start by locking down the phone.
Go into the settings. Restrict the ability to download new apps. Turn off messaging to people outside approved contacts. Disable the camera in private areas—especially bathrooms and bedrooms.
Make sure your child can’t send or receive images from strangers.
This is especially important because, like we said earlier, one of the first things predators do is try to get a child alone with a camera.
That’s step one of the grooming process.
And your phone—the one you gave your child—makes that possible.
But you can shut it down.
Darren Jamieson: And are parental controls really that specific? Can you actually block messaging outside contacts?
Christopher Duff: Yes. Especially with Apple’s controls. You can block app downloads, limit communication, control what apps they have, who they can message—everything.
You can literally set it so that only approved contacts can communicate with your child.
And if you don’t approve it, they don’t see it. It won’t come through.
You can also disable things like Safari or other browsers so they can’t go to external websites. And of course, limit screen time.
There are tools now—use them.
Darren Jamieson: You mentioned Snapchat earlier. I know my daughter uses it—and she’s an adult—but the GPS feature is shocking. People can see exactly where you are if you haven’t turned that off.
Christopher Duff: Right. That’s what people don’t understand.
If your child has location sharing enabled in Snapchat, then anyone they’re connected with can see their exact location.
And predators use that.
I remember a case—one that still gives me chills—where a predator used GPS to track a girl. He knew what school she went to. He knew her class schedule. He knew when she’d be alone.
He showed up at the school, said he was the father of a boy she thought she was talking to online—“Billy.”
Said Billy had been in a car accident and was asking for her.
She almost left with him.
If it wasn’t for a very alert school officer, she’d have been abducted.
And Billy? Didn’t exist. It was him the whole time.
Darren Jamieson: Jesus.
She would’ve been taken right out of school—where you think your kids are the safest.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. That’s why we tell parents: you can’t trust anything just because it seems innocent.
Predators plan. They plot. They don’t show up looking scary. They show up looking like someone your child trusts.
And this is what we need to teach our kids.
If someone ever shows up, even if they know your name, your school, your friends—don’t go. Don’t believe it.
Get help. Get a teacher. Call a parent.
These lessons save lives.
We can’t be there 24/7. But if we prepare our kids—if we have these conversations—we can keep them safe even when we’re not around.
Darren Jamieson: And that’s the most powerful takeaway.
It’s not just about technology or controls—it’s about relationships. If your kids know they can talk to you, they’ll come to you.
If they think they’ll get in trouble, they won’t.
Christopher Duff: That’s it. That’s the key.
Because once a predator has a compromising image or video, they’ll say: “If you tell anyone, I’ll send this to your parents.”
And if the child thinks, “My parents will kill me,” they won’t speak up.
But if they think, “My parents will help me,” they will.
That’s the difference.
So we have to create homes where kids know we’re on their side. We may be disappointed, but we’re still safe. We’re still a place of protection.
That’s how we stop this.
Darren Jamieson: So really, what you’re saying is—it’s not about surveillance, it’s about connection. It’s about trust.
Christopher Duff: Exactly. We can’t watch them every second. But we can build a relationship strong enough that they come to us when something feels wrong.
And that’s worth more than any filter or firewall.
We arm our kids by teaching them to recognize manipulation. By talking about grooming. Sextortion. Fake profiles.
We don’t shield them from the reality—we prepare them for it.
Darren Jamieson: And just like you said, education is the key. Not fear. Not control. Just honest, ongoing conversations.
Christopher Duff: Right. I always say, “Don’t be your child’s warden—be their guide.”
Let them know:
“I’ve got your back. Always. Even if you make a mistake. Even if you mess up.”
Because if they believe that, they’ll come to you when it matters most.
And that’s how we beat this—together.
As families. As communities. As schools. As law enforcement.
We can’t do it alone. But if we each play our part, we can protect our kids.
Darren Jamieson: Chris, thank you so much for sharing all this. I know this has been a heavy episode—but it’s an important one. And honestly, one of the most powerful conversations we’ve had on this podcast.
Christopher Duff: Thank you. I appreciate it.
I know it’s dark, and it’s uncomfortable—but it’s real. And the more people that hear it, the better chance we have of stopping it.
Darren Jamieson: To everyone listening—if you’re a parent, please take this seriously. If you’re a teacher, an aunt, a coach—anyone who works with kids—have these conversations.
It could make all the difference.
You’ve been listening to The Engaging Marketeer. I’m Darren Jamieson. My guest today was Christopher Duff—former high-tech crime investigator and founder of Innocent Eyes.
Take care of your kids. Be involved. Stay informed.
We’ll see you in the next episode.
