AIP 100 · Everyone
Prevention Foundations
The common core for every AIP course: how online exploitation and trafficking work, how to break the pattern, and the correct first steps and reporting routes.
What you will be able to do
- Describe how grooming, sextortion and trafficking escalate, in plain words.
- Name the points where an adult can interrupt the pattern.
- Open a conversation with a child that builds trust instead of fear.
- Follow the six-phase response method: prepare, spot it, contain, clean up, recover, learn.
- Preserve evidence safely and judge how far to trust a claim or a contact.
- Report to the right place, and explain why you never investigate a suspect yourself.
1 Module 1 of 6 · 35 min
The threat landscape
- Describe the scale of online child exploitation using sourced public figures.
- Explain why reported numbers understate what is happening.
- Separate what the data shows from what it does not show.
Good prevention starts with an honest picture. We use public figures from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the National Human Trafficking Hotline. We state what they show, and what they cannot tell us.
| What was reported (2025) | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Reports of suspected child exploitation to NCMEC’s CyberTipline | 21.3 million | NCMEC CyberTipline data |
| Reports involving online enticement | 1.4 million | NCMEC CyberTipline data |
| Sextortion reports | More than 80,000 | NCMEC CyberTipline data |
| Average financial sextortion reports per day | 137 | NCMEC CyberTipline data |
A report is not the same as a child, and one child can appear in many reports. These figures show volume and direction. They do not give an exact count of children harmed.
Why the real number is higher
Shame, fear of punishment, and not knowing where to report keep many families silent. Reported cases are a floor, not a ceiling.
A parent at a school meeting says, “If 21 million reports were made, that means 21 million children were hurt.”
How would you respond, kindly and accurately?
Show the debrief
A good answer thanks them for caring, then explains that reports count incidents and tips, not individual children, and that the true number of harmed children is not known. It keeps the seriousness without overstating the figure. Accuracy protects AIP’s credibility and the family’s trust.
Knowledge check
2 Module 2 of 6 · 40 min
How exploitation escalates, and where to break it
- Describe the seven stages of the grooming pattern from a defender’s view.
- Identify at least one break-point for each stage.
- Tell a worrying cluster of signs from a single ambiguous sign.
Exploitation rarely begins with a threat. It begins with attention. Knowing the pattern lets adults act early, when the child is still safe and the person has not yet gained control.
| Stage | What an adult may notice | Break-point |
|---|---|---|
| Targeting | A child posts openly about loneliness or conflict | Privacy settings; check in regularly |
| Contact | A new ‘friend’ or follower appears | Teach: unknown contacts get no private chats |
| Trust-building | Flattery, gifts, game currency | Ask: who gives gifts to a stranger? |
| Isolation | Secrecy; ‘don’t tell your parents’ | Name it: secrets from parents are a red flag |
| Desensitizing | Jokes and boundary tests that grow | Interrupt early; no shame for the child |
| Exploitation | Requests for images, money or meetings | Stop contact, keep evidence, report |
| Control | Threats and fear of exposure | Tell a trusted adult; use the response method |
One sign proves nothing
A single odd message is not proof. A cluster of signs, or a sudden change in mood, secrecy or spending, deserves a calm conversation and, if needed, a report.
- Look for patterns over days, not one moment.
- Keep the child’s dignity at the center of every conversation.
- Act at the earliest stage you can.
- Don’t accuse the child.
- Don’t confront the contact.
- Don’t wait for certainty before asking questions.
A 12-year-old suddenly has new in-game currency. They say a friend ‘who is really nice’ gave it to them. They close the tablet when you walk in.
Which stages might this be, and what is your first move?
Show the debrief
Gifts point to trust-building and the closed tablet suggests secrecy, the start of isolation. The first move is a calm, curious conversation, not a confrontation: “Tell me about your friend.” Preserve any chats before changing settings, then decide on blocking and reporting.
Knowledge check
3 Module 3 of 6 · 30 min
Trust and talking early
- Explain why children who expect no punishment tell adults sooner.
- Use open, non-leading language to start a conversation.
- Offer a ‘no-trouble’ promise and keep it.
Children are hardest to exploit when they believe an adult is on their side. The most protective thing you can say is also the simplest: telling me will never get you in trouble.
Before anything happens
“If anyone online ever scares you, tricks you, or asks you to keep a secret from me, tell me. I will be on your side, even if you made a mistake.”
- Ask open questions: “What do you like about that game?”
- Listen for longer than you speak.
- Thank the child for telling you, every time.
- Agree a code word that means ‘I need help, no questions yet’.
- Don’t lecture or list worst cases.
- Don’t punish a child for coming forward by taking devices away.
- Don’t promise to keep a secret you may have to report.
The goal is trust, not surveillance. Rules that children help write are rules they are far more likely to follow.
A 14-year-old tells you, shaking, that they sent a photo to someone online and now that person is threatening them.
What are the first three things you say or do?
Show the debrief
Say: “You’re not in trouble. I’m glad you told me. We’ll handle this together.” Ask only what you need to keep them safe. Then move to the response method. Do not ask “why did you send it?” That question closes the door.
Knowledge check
4 Module 4 of 6 · 35 min
The six-phase response method
- Name the six phases and say what each is for.
- Apply the phase order: protect people first, then evidence, then fix.
- Explain why skipping ahead causes harm.
Professional responders do not improvise on the worst day. They follow a plan. AIP uses a six-phase cycle in every playbook so the rhythm becomes familiar.
| Phase | Plain meaning | One example action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prepare | Get ready before anything happens | Agree a code word; save hotline numbers |
| 2. Spot it | Notice and confirm what is going on | Ask open questions; check the pattern |
| 3. Contain | Stop it getting worse; protect the child | Stop replying; do not pay or negotiate |
| 4. Clean up | Preserve evidence, report, remove | Report to NCMEC; use Take It Down |
| 5. Recover | Help the child heal and feel safe | Offer counseling; check in daily |
| 6. Learn | Review without blame and improve | Write down what you would do faster |
Order matters
Under stress, people skip to the fix. They delete the account, shame the child, or pay the criminal. Protect the child first, keep the evidence second, stop the contact third, then remove and heal.
A parent discovers a threatening message, deletes the child’s account in a panic, then blocks the sender, then asks the child what happened.
Which steps were out of order, and what was lost?
Show the debrief
The parent protected nobody first, destroyed evidence by deleting, and questioned the child last. A better order: reassure the child, save the evidence, stop contact and block, then report and remove.
Knowledge check
5 Module 5 of 6 · 40 min
Evidence discipline and source grading
- List what to capture and what never to capture.
- Keep a simple, dated evidence log.
- Grade a message or contact on reliability and credibility before acting on it.
Evidence is what lets police and NCMEC act. Evidence discipline means capturing the right things, in the right way, without harming the child or yourself.
- Usernames, profile links, phone numbers, payment handles.
- The text of threats and demands.
- Dates and times.
- A simple log: what happened, when, who you told.
- Never open, copy, forward or screenshot a sexual image of a minor, even to ‘show police’. Possessing or sharing it can itself be a crime.
- Never delete accounts or messages before saving what is needed.
- Never edit or ‘tidy up’ screenshots.
Source grading asks two separate questions about any claim: how reliable is the person (who), and how believable is the claim (what). A stranger asking for urgency and secrecy rates low on both.
| Confidence | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Confirmed | Verified by two independent sources |
| Probably true | One reliable source and nothing contradicting it |
| Unconfirmed | Single, unverified source |
| Probably false | Contradicted, or the source has a reason to deceive |
A message claims to be from ‘Instagram Safety’ and says your child’s account will be deleted in one hour unless you click a link and confirm a code.
Grade this source and say what you would do.
Show the debrief
Urgency, a link, and a request for a code are warning signs, so reliability and credibility are low. Do not click. Verify by opening the app directly, check the account’s security page, and report the message to the platform.
Knowledge check
6 Module 6 of 6 · 35 min
Reporting and where to get help
- Choose the right place to report for each situation.
- Explain why you never investigate a suspect yourself.
- Describe what AIP is, and is not.
Knowing who to call before you need to is the single biggest time saver. Save these now.
| Situation | Where to go |
|---|---|
| Anyone in immediate danger | Call 911 |
| Online exploitation of a child | NCMEC CyberTipline: report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678 |
| Intimate image of a minor to remove | Take It Down: takeitdown.ncmec.org |
| Suspected trafficking | National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888, or text 233733 |
| A child in distress or talking about self-harm | Call or text 988 |
| A worried adult needs advice about a child | Childhelp: 1-800-422-4453 |
| Local help in Nevada | Dial 211 |
The plain rule
You never investigate a suspect yourself. Do not message, confront, bait, track down or ‘catch’ anyone. It can put the child in danger, alert the offender, and damage the case. Collect only what the response method says, then hand it to the people trained to act.
AIP is a prevention and education nonprofit. It is not a crisis line, a law firm or a law enforcement agency. Use the services above for emergencies and reporting.
Related
A coach discovers a message to a player from an adult stranger and thinks, “I’ll pretend to be the kid and catch him.”
What should the coach do instead?
Show the debrief
Do not engage. Save the evidence, stop contact, and report to the NCMEC CyberTipline and to local police. Amateur stings risk the child’s safety and can ruin a prosecution. Trained investigators do that work.
Knowledge check
★ Capstone
Build and rehearse a one-page response plan
The capstone is how you show you can do the work, not just answer questions. It produces something real that you keep.
- Fill in the family or organization response card: who you call first, code word, hotline numbers, where the evidence log lives.
- Write a six-line version of the six-phase method in your own words.
- Role-play one scenario with another adult and note where you hesitated.
- Write three lines about what you would change after the role-play.
How it is reviewed
- Contains correct hotline numbers and the 911 rule.
- States the phase order with protection of the child first.
- Names what to capture and what never to capture.
- Shows no investigation of a suspect.
- Includes at least one improvement from the rehearsal.
Pass every module check at 80% or better, finish the capstone, then follow the steps on the credentials page to request your certificate.
Counts toward
- AIP Prevention Foundations Certificate
- AIP Family Safety Responder
- AIP Youth & Community Leader
- AIP School Safety Responder
- AIP Healthcare & Social Services Responder
Companion playbooks
- The grooming chain: what adults can notice, and where to break it
- Sextortion: the family response playbook
- Preserving evidence: a guide for families
- Is this real? Grading what you read and who told you
- Listening to a child who tells you something hard
AIP Academy courses are awareness and skills training. They are not legal, medical or clinical advice, and an AIP certificate is not a license, state or professional accreditation, CLE credit, or a promise of employment. In an emergency call 911.
Safety is built before the crisis
Pick your part and see it through. Prevention works when people follow through.