Human Traffickers Now Hiding Behind Smartphones And Computers

SACRAMENTO (CBS 13) - Two people are behind bars after Citrus Heights police say they forced a teenage girl into prostitution.

Law enforcement and attorneys from across the region say human trafficking is becoming more and more challenging to investigate.

"Now the trafficker goes out on a fishing expedition at Starbucks and is able to find 6, 7, 8 different girls just by essentially surfing the web," said Elton Grau, San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney with the Child Abuse Unit.

Gone are the days when police could find victims of human trafficking on the streets. Backpage.com is a classified advertisement site that gained popularity after Craigslist closed its adult ad section back in 2010. But it's just one of many sites criminals use for human trafficking.

"Once you take one site down, another site will pop up and advertise prostitution," Grau said.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris says foster care children are the most vulnerable to human traffickers and that 40 percent of human trafficking victims come from the foster care system.

"We could do a much better job in the state by providing stability," he said.  "And also resources in particular as they start to age out of the system."

But Grau said today's traffickers aren't sticking to just one type of person, they're after anyone they think is vulnerable.  In fact, he says they're scouring Facebook and social media for posts from children showing any kind of insecurity.

"The traffickers are able to manipulate these cracks in the child and are able to negotiate and manipulate them into essentially prostituting out," Grau said.

Victims are often lured into private conversations on apps like What's App or KIK.  And sometimes the conversation can start on an innocent gaming app like Pokemon Go.

"They find what makes that person tick," Grau said. "They communicate with that person through some sort of app. They find what that person likes and they are able to manipulate them."

And with so many different ways to reach potential victims, it's imperative that parents know exactly what their children are doing online.

Attorneys General across the country are working to take the site down, but at this point, Backpage.com is still fully functional.