Momo - freaky online threat to young internet users

[Sarah]

Young internet users are being warned of a hideous new threat in the form of 'Momo'....




https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-47359623

Momo may be creepy, but police believe it is clear it is being used by hackers to harvest information.

Officers in Northern Ireland moved to reassure parents about the doll figure with bulging eyes and a creepy grin.

Momo targets young children on social media.

The doll encourages them to add a contact on messaging service WhatsApp, then hounds them with violent images and dares.

It encourages them to self-harm and the ultimate post tells them to take their own lives.


But police in Northern Ireland said that while headlines like "suicide game hits UK" might get thousands of clicks online, they "miss the bigger issue".

"Great for a short-term shock effect, but not great long-term as it somewhat misses the bigger issue," said the PSNI in Craigavon in a Facebook post.

A police officer said Momo was clearly run by hackers who are looking for information.

"Whatever or whoever is behind it, there is no disputing the content being sent is horrendous," reads the post.

"A 'curse contact' sends a number and tells you to contact them on WhatsApp.

"One video of such an interaction in America I've seen, shows an ominous-sounding voice recording being sent to a child telling them to take a knife to their own throat.

"Another threatens family if a 'challenge' is not completed. It's chilling viewing.

"There are numerous variations and of course now imitators."

 

[Alexis]

I have been reading about this and am just horrified. It's absolutely sick. I have nieces and nephews and the thought that someone, or more likely a group of adults would set out to do something like this is disgusting, targeting children is just beyond me. There are some sick individuals in this world. Sadly this kind of thing is just the tip of the iceberg.
There are far worse and horrific things going on all over the place, every day. Abuses of power by adults ruining children in all kinds of ways. It's truly tragic.

I hope whoever is responsible is caught and sentenced.

 

[Jason73]

This is supposedly a sick hoax.

https://www.politifact.com/facebook...o-challenge-isnt-real-its-just-another-inter/

And now the actual statue that inspired it all has been destroyed by the artist who created it.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/momo-sculpture-destroyed-keisuke-aiso-802627/

These hoaxes and urban legends are always a good reminder of the need to continually talk to kids about internet safety, though. There are plenty of real dangers out there.


As a side note, every time I see an image of that bird woman statue, I can't help thinking it reminds me of this:

 

[Rove]

Heard about this on the radio this morning. I'm just going to put an idea out there but wouldn't it be wonderful if Internet Security companies (for example Norton) could create counter blocking technology to stop this kind of horrendous crap getting through to impressionable young kids. There is only so much us adults can do.

 

[Grant Jennings]

Heard about this on the radio this morning. I'm just going to put an idea out there but wouldn't it be wonderful if Internet Security companies (for example Norton) could create counter blocking technology to stop this kind of horrendous crap getting through to impressionable young kids. There is only so much us adults can do.

That's a great idea. I know that they wouldn't be able to block every site immediately (just as it takes them time to identify new security threats) it would put a stop to something like this very quickly. I'm sure they'd have users sign some sort of disclaimer that they aren't responsible for sites that aren't blocked. Ultimately it's the parents' responsibility - but they need help policing the internet.