Warning for ALL internet users over sex predators ‘hiding child abuse in plain sight’

DISGUSTING paedos are hiding some of the worst child sex abuse photos behind websites that look like ordinary web pages to everyone else.

The sick tactic has exploded to a worrying level, with experts finding an average of 115 disguised sites every working day.

GettyPredators use special key and a secret ‘digital pathway’[/caption]

Images uncovered include newborn babies, hidden in plain sight so only depraved perverts can find them.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) charity responsible for finding and taking down child sex abuse online say they unmasked 26,272 under cover sites last year.

While the phenomenon isn’t new, cases have shot up 541 per cent compared to 2020.

Experts say paedos use legitimate porn sites and 404 error message web pages to conceal their evil content.

Using a special key and a secret “digital pathway” of links, pervs are able to unlock what lurks behind.

“It looks completely normal, like a legitimate website, there’s nothing untoward on it at all,” Tamsin McNally, Hotline Manager at the IWF told The Sun.

“It involves going through various pathways on the internet and by doing so you get given this key.

“Then, if you load up that same website again, instead of being that 404 page or potentially that legitimate adult pornographic site, it turns and it completely changes.

“There are often many, many images and/or videos of children being raped and abused, horrible sexual abuse images, right there, clear as day.”

She compared the devious strategy to going to someone’s house, where a person lets you in and it looks like a normal home inside.

But the next day you have a key and access the backdoor to find a rundown hovel instead.

“When that person let you in, they showed you what they wanted you to see,” McNally explained.

Pervs also trying to make money out of it

As if the surging trend wasn’t bad enough, paedos are also trying to sell the sick videos on these hidden sites.

Worryingly, self-generated content is still the biggest type of material experts have to contend with.

“What we are seeing is an escalation in the devious tactics being deployed by these criminals in a bid to avoid detection and frustrate the efforts of law enforcement agencies worldwide,” warned IWF boss Susie Hargreaves.

“All the images and videos feature real children – children who are being made to suffer so these criminals can share and exploit this material.

“By unmasking these sites, and clamping down on this sly tactic, we can ensure there is nowhere safe for these predators to hide, and nowhere they can turn to share this harmful material.”

Images and videos of online child sexual abuse can be reported anonymously on the IWF website.

GettyIWF found 26,272 disguised sites last year[/caption]

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