Month 2: Online Safety — Strangers, Grooming, Sexting, and Sextortion

School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Youth Month: 2 of 12 (self-paced: all sections are posted, and you learn at your own pace) Presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Muslim Ordained Minister

This lesson is educational information and is not legal advice. Laws vary by state. If you are in danger right now, call 911.

Adapted from the Youth Core, Week 2.

Before you start

• This space is private. Nobody sees what you read or how you answer. Your progress is saved only in your own browser on this device.
• We never ask your name. Not here, not on the test, not on the certificate. If you earn a certificate, you download it first and write your own name on it after.
• Pass the month test at 80% or higher to earn this month's certificate. You can retake the test as many times as you need — each retake presents the questions in a different order, with the answer choices in a different order too. Answers are not shown — the point is to go back, find what you missed in the lesson, and learn it for real.
• If you are in danger right now: call 911. If you cannot talk out loud, text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) or call or text 988 any time, day or night.

The lesson

1. Why online safety needs its own plan

Online, people are not always who they say they are. An adult who wants to get close to a kid will almost never start with anything that looks dangerous. It starts friendly. This month is about seeing the pattern early — because once you can name it, it loses its power over you. A profile photo, an age in a bio, and a kind voice prove nothing. Anyone can copy a photo, lie about their age, and learn what kids like in order to sound like a friend.

You do not need to be afraid of the internet to be safe on it. You need habits, clear rules for photos and private information, and the same trusted-adult map you built in Month 1, used quickly when something feels off.

2. Grooming — the pattern, step by step

Grooming is when an adult (or sometimes an older teen) slowly builds a kid's trust in order to use them. It usually looks like this. First, the friendly stranger: someone messages you — from a game, a group chat, social media, anywhere — and they seem to like everything you like. Second, the fast friendship: lots of attention, compliments, gifts such as game currency, skins, or money, and lines like "you're not like other kids, you're mature." Third, the secrets: "This is just between us." They ask you to move to a more private app, delete messages, or not tell adults. Fourth, the turn: they ask for photos, or send you photos, or push sexual talk, or ask to meet. If you sent anything, they may use it to threaten you: "Send more or I'll show everyone." That threat is a crime they are committing — it is called sextortion — and the blame is on them, never on you.

Any step of this pattern is a red flag — you do not have to wait for step four. A real friend never needs you to hide them from every adult in your life. If someone gets upset when you want to keep a parent, counselor, or trusted adult in the loop, that reaction tells you what you need to know.

3. The photo rule — this one matters most

Once a photo leaves your phone, you do not control it. It can be saved, copied, and shared in seconds, even from apps that say photos disappear. So never send a photo of your body to anyone. Not to someone you know, not to someone who sent one first, not under pressure, not as a joke. If someone asks, that request itself is the red flag. Stop, block, tell a trusted adult.

The same care applies to dating partners and friends your age. A photo shared in trust can be forwarded after an argument, saved without you knowing, or used to pressure you later. The safest rule has no exceptions for "but this person is different." If you already sent something, hear this clearly: you are not ruined and you are not in trouble in this school's eyes. Tell a trusted adult quickly. If the person threatens you, that is sextortion — a crime against you. Adults and police deal with this constantly, and reporting early is how images get taken down and threats get stopped. The shame belongs to the person who asked and threatened — not to you.

4. Everyday online safety habits

Small habits, used every day, block most problems before they start. Keep profiles private and only accept people you actually know in real life. Turn off location sharing in apps and in photos, and do not post where you will be. Treat personal details as private: full name, school, address, and your daily routine are not information strangers need. Use the screenshot rule — if you would not want it on a screen in the school cafeteria, do not send it. Keep your passwords to yourself; nobody legitimate, not a game company and not a friend, will ask for your password. Never meet an online-only person in person. If you ever feel you must, that is exactly the moment to tell a trusted adult first. No exceptions is the safe rule.

Also slow down before you click, download, or scan anything a stranger sends. Links and files can be used to steal accounts or track your device. If a "friend" suddenly asks for money, gift cards, or account codes, stop and check with an adult, even if the account looks familiar — accounts get hacked and copied.

5. If it already happened — the exact steps

If someone is pressuring or threatening you now, follow these steps in order. First, stop replying. Do not negotiate, do not send anything else, and do not pay anything. Second, save the evidence — screenshots of the threats and the account names — then block and report the account in the app. Third, tell a trusted adult today, using your map from Month 1. Fourth, adults can report to the CyberTipline and to police, and there is a free service called Take It Down that helps get images of minors removed from the internet. Fifth, breathe. This happens to a lot of kids. The person counting on you staying silent is the predator. Telling is how you beat them.

What NOT to do matters just as much. Do not delete everything in a panic before you have saved evidence, because the account names and threats are what helpers need. Do not try to handle the threats alone or bargain for more time. Do not blame yourself and go quiet — silence is what the person threatening you is counting on.

6. What to expect after you tell

Many kids worry that telling means losing their phone forever, getting in big trouble, or having everyone find out. Adults handle this in different ways, and some of those worries are understandable. What you can expect from the right helpers is this: a trusted adult listens, helps you block and report, and connects you to the CyberTipline or police if threats or images are involved. Counselors and hotline staff have heard this before and will not be shocked. The goal of telling is to stop the other person and protect you — not to punish you for being targeted. If the first adult reacts badly, go to the next person on your map, or call or text a help line yourself. Keep going until you reach someone who acts.

Words to know — Month 2

• Grooming — when someone slowly builds a child's trust in order to use or harm them.
• Sextortion — threatening to share someone's private images unless they send more images or money; a crime committed by the person threatening.
• Predator — a person who targets children to harm or use them.
• Block / report — app tools that cut off contact and alert the platform about an account.
• Digital footprint — everything you post, send, and share online, which can be copied even after you delete it.
• CyberTipline — the national reporting system for online exploitation of children, run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
• Private account — an account setting where only people you approve can see your posts and contact you.

Myths vs facts — Month 2

• Myth: If an app says photos disappear, sending a photo there is safe. Fact: Disappearing photos can be screenshotted, recorded with another phone, or saved in seconds. Once a photo leaves your phone, you do not control it.
• Myth: Grooming only happens with strangers who act creepy right away. Fact: Grooming usually starts friendly and normal, with compliments, gifts, and fast friendship. The secrecy and the push to move to a private app are the warning signs.
• Myth: If you sent a photo, it is your fault and you should hide it. Fact: The fault belongs to the person who asked for, pressured for, or threatened over the image. Telling a trusted adult early is how threats are stopped and images are taken down.
• Myth: Meeting an online friend in a public place makes it safe. Fact: There is no safe version of secretly meeting an online-only person. The safe rule is do not meet, and tell a trusted adult that they asked.

What would you do? — Month 2

The situation: In your favorite game, a player called "Storm" has been on your team for two weeks. Storm says she's 15, sends you game gifts, and tells you you're her best friend. Tonight Storm asks you to switch to a different chat app "so the team can't spy on us," and asks what school you go to.

Walk it through:

1. Name the pattern. Fast friendship, gifts, moving to a private app, asking for personal details like your school, and secrecy from others — that is steps one through three of grooming, in order.
2. Remember you do not have to accuse anyone. You do not owe Storm an explanation or a goodbye speech. Your safety does not need their permission.
3. Stop and block. Do not answer the school question. Block the account on the game and anywhere else you are connected.
4. Tell a trusted adult. Show them the messages. This is exactly what your trusted-adult map is for.
5. Notice the feeling. It can feel sad or embarrassing — Storm felt like a friend. That feeling is what the pattern is designed to create. Losing a "friend" who was never safe is a win, not a loss.

Try this — Month 2

Do a 10-minute privacy check on every app you use. For each app, check four things: Is my account set to private? Is location sharing off? Do I only follow and accept people I know in real life? Would I be okay if anything I posted this week appeared on a screen at school? Fix anything that fails the check. Then save two things in your phone where you can find them fast: the CyberTipline and Take It Down names from the Resources section, and the name of your number one trusted adult. Finally, practice your exit line for pressure — a short sentence you can copy and send, like "I'm not sending photos. I'm blocking this now and telling an adult." Having the words ready makes a pressured moment much easier.

Resources to keep — Month 2

• 911 — call if you are in danger right now or someone threatens to come to you in person.
• 988 (call/text) — call or text 988 any time for support during a crisis or frightening situation.
• Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741 if you would rather type than talk.
• CyberTipline — report.cybertip.org / 1-800-843-5678 — report online exploitation, grooming, or threats to share images.
• Take It Down — takeitdown.ncmec.org — free help to remove or stop the spread of images of minors online.
• Childhelp — 1-800-422-4453 — help if an adult, online or in person, is hurting or pressuring you.

What you earned / what's next — Month 2

✅ Month 2 complete (test score 80% or higher): You can spot the grooming pattern step by step, you know the photo rule and why it matters, you have strong everyday online habits, and you know the exact steps to take if someone pressures or threatens you online — including that the blame is never yours.

What's next: Month 3 — Bullying and Cyberbullying — What to Do, How to Help a Friend. Next month you learn what to do when cruelty comes from people you actually know, and how to stand up for a friend without making things worse.

Minister Destiny Testimony Schools — Youth. Lessons are educational information, written in plain language. If you or someone you know is in danger, call 911. Help lines: 988 (call/text) · Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) · Childhelp 1-800-422-4453.