Paedophiles are publishing an increasing number of sadistic and violent images of younger children on the internet and are abandoning the slow grooming of victims, instead using threats to force them into commiting indecent acts, an intelligence review has found.

The review, published today by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), also found evidence that individual paedophiles are running multiple e-mail accounts, sending out hundreds of messages a day to children.

The report, which will be sent to every police force and child protection team in the country, has discovered that British organised criminals are setting up commercial paedophile sites to cash in on the multimillion-pound business. Younger children are at particular risk from the growth of online gaming sites aimed at them that incorporate instant messaging. Paedophiles are also setting up websites aimed at teenagers, such as “support sites” for self-harmers.

Paedophiles are changing their tactics because of the success of schemes warning children of the dangers of grooming. They tell children that unless they turn on their webcams a virus will crash their computer. Once the webcam is turned on and their image is captured the child is told that unless they undress a virus will infect their computer, crashing it or giving the predator all of the child’s contacts.

The child is then told that unless he or she does something else an indecent image with his or her head on it will be sent to teachers, parents or friends. Officers have found that the acts get more indecent as the threats get more severe, until the child is forced into meeting the predator. Address books are also hacked into without the children’s knowledge.

Victoria Baines, the author of the report, told The Times: “The nature of the child abuse images we are seeing is changing. We are seeing younger victims, an increase in the number of babies and toddlers abused. Also, the degree of sadistic and violent images is increasing, not just here but around the world.”

“Compared to last year we are seeing the increasing use of online violence towards children, and threats of physical violence, which exerts control over the child.

“It doesn’t matter if the threat is real; if the child is scared then they are out of control of the situation. It starts from ‘switch on your webcam’.”

This is the second year that CEOP has conducted a review. “The crimes that we see represent only a very small percentage of the true numbers involved,” the report says.

Staying safe online

— Talk to your children about what they are doing online and visit the CEOP’s website, www.thinkuknow.co.uk

— Make sure your children understand that they should keep online friends online. If they want to meet one of them in the real world they must tell you or another trusted adult, and take a trusted adult with them

— Know how to report to the CEOP centre if you are concerned about someone’s online behaviour

. . . and for children

— Don’t give personal details to online friends, including your Messenger ID, e-mail address, mobile number and any pictures of you, your family or friends

— If you put a picture or video online, anyone can change it or share it

— Spam/junk e-mail and texts: don’t reply

— It’s a bad idea to open files from people you don’t know. You won’t know what they contain

— Remember that some people lie online

— Don’t meet up with any strangers without an adult you trust. Better to be uncool than unsafe

— Parents and children can both report at www.thinkuknow.co.uk

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