A Virtual Trap: How Social Media Dreams Can Turn Dangerous

Sex Trafficking: Ava’s Story

Ava Thompson was a 17-year-old with big dreams of becoming a photographer. She spent hours curating her social media feed, hoping her work would someday get noticed. One day, her wish seemed to come true when an account called UrbanLensStudio messaged her. The account looked professional, filled with stunning photos of models and cityscapes.

“Hi Ava! Your work is amazing. We’re scouting fresh talent for a new campaign. Are you interested?”

The message came from “Kenzie,” who claimed to be a recruiter for the Atlanta photography agency. Over the next few weeks, Kenzie and Ava chatted often. Kenzie was friendly and supportive, asking about Ava’s dreams and encouraging her to pursue them. Eventually, Kenzie invited Ava to a photography workshop in Atlanta, promising that flights and accommodations would be covered.

When Ava told her parents, they were wary. “Why would they pay for everything?” her mom asked. But Ava insisted it was a legitimate opportunity, pointing to the agency’s polished website and Kenzie’s reassuring messages. Reluctantly, her parents agreed but made her promise to stay in touch.

Ava boarded the plane full of excitement and anticipation. At the Atlanta airport, everything changed when Kenzie wasn’t there. Instead, a man named Jake greeted her, claiming Kenzie had a last-minute emergency. He took her to a run-down motel, saying the workshop would start the next day. Ava felt uneasy, but Jake dismissed her concerns with smooth explanations.

The next morning, things took a dark turn. Ava’s phone mysteriously disappeared, and when she asked to leave, Jake became hostile. “You owe us for the flight and the room,” he snarled. Realizing she’d been trapped, Ava started to panic as the method they planned to make her repay the money started to unfold. Back home, her parents became alarmed when she didn’t check in.

Unbeknownst to them a volunteer analyst with Project 1591 had seen an escort ad listing a young girl being called “Emily” for sale. The ad had indicators of trafficking causing the analyst to look further. The analyst started digging into social media accounts and other publicly available information online and was quickly able to determine that the girl in the ad was actually Ava and also discovered she is a minor, not 18 like the ad suggested. Once enough information was gathered to prove Ava’s identity.  The analyst submitted the report to Guardian Group.

The new lead submission pinged in the Project 1591 platform of a Guardian Group analysis team member. The Guardian Group analyst, realizing the information submitted suggested a minor was in danger, stopped everything to start corroborating the research done by the volunteer. Quickly they realized the volunteer had done good work and they turned around and reached out to law enforcement partners in the Atlanta area.

Law enforcement received the report and got to work quickly, contacting the escort ad and setting up a date with “Emily.” When law enforcement arrived at the hotel for their date, they were able to recover Ava. They found Jake hiding in the bathroom and he was arrested.

Ava returned home shaken but safe. The experience changed her life, driving her to become an advocate for online safety and anti-trafficking efforts. She now shares her story with teens and parents, warning them about the dangers of trusting strangers online.

“I thought I was following my dreams,” she tells others. “But not everything—or everyone—on social media is what they seem.”

 

Team 1591 a Tactical Way to Stop Trafficking

Ava’s experience is heartbreaking and will forever change her life and the lives of her parents. Any amount of exploitation is highly traumatizing and the longer someone’s experience with this crime, the more increased their level of trauma is. We cannot sit around and wait, there are others, just like Ava, that we have yet to identify. We need your help!

Joining Team 1591 is a tactical way to help stop trafficking. Each Team 1591 member is committed to giving a minimum of $15.91 a month. For about every 500 members we can hire an additional analyst to help support victim identification across the country.

Law enforcement is ready to take action, however, their resource limitations make the identification portion tricky. When Guardian Group takes on that piece through our internal team and with the help of our Project 1591 volunteers’ recovery can happen faster!

 

 

Learn More About Why the Number 1591 and Sign Up

 

 

*Disclaimer: We strive to never re-victimize someone by telling their story, we also strive to protect any information that may be used in an open legal investigation and therefore this is a combination of multiple survivors’ stories and all names and locations have been changed.