Police warn parents about apps used by criminals

LEXINGTON, Tenn. — Local police are warning parents of the dangers that could be on their kids’ phones.

“It is a hunting ground for the predator,” said Captain Jeff Middleton of the Lexington Police Department.

Lexington police want parents to watch their kids’ phones.

Examples of apps parents need to know about include Kik, Reddit and Musical.ly.

“But they all do pretty much the same thing. They facilitate communications between people that sign up and have an account,” Middleton said.

Captain Middleton says most of the time, kids have no way of confirming who they’re talking to.

Some apps can actually hide other apps.

“They can use things that appear to be, in one case, a calculator, that is used to hide any images or files that you wouldn’t want somebody to see,” Middleton said.

These apps aren’t just being used to exploit young people.

“Narcotics trafficking, theft, stolen property offenses, any other crime you can imagine, social media is now an aspect of that,” Middleton said.

Captain Middleton says they have one goal.

“Our goal is to minimize the number of victims we may have. If we educate people, educate parents, they educate their children, maybe we can prevent crime from happening,” Middleton said.

Officers say the easiest way to make sure your kids are staying safe is to have the passwords to all of their apps.

For a complete list of apps you need to be aware of and other information head to the Seen On 7 section of our website.