Paedophiles 'reaching into kids rooms' as sick adults exploit THIS popular children's game

BEST-SELLING console game Minecraft has left horrified parents claiming it is giving paedophiles easy-access to their children.

By ZOIE O'BRIEN, EXCLUSIVE

PUBLISHED:  Mon, Apr 4, 2016 

 

 

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Paedophile are exploiting popular kids game to groom children

Disgusted mums and dads have found sickening messages sent to their kids by adults posing as young gamers, when they play the product on an Xbox Live account.

The game, which has been developed by Microsoft, has proved a huge hit with youngsters who can create their own virtual world.

However, UK parents who have sifted through games and reviews to make sure they are safe said they have been seriously let down by the company for not making it clear their children are at risk of grooming.

One mum found terrifying messages on her son's console last week from a person claiming to be a pregnant woman.

 

The whole time a disgusting pervert was able to talk to him  Unnamed Mother

A vulgar chain of correspondence included requests for the boy, aged 10, to send pictures of his private parts.

His mum, who has asked not to be named, said: "All he plays is Minecraft - he's Minecraft mad.
"I checked it and I saw it was ok for him to use. I had no idea that he would get those kind of messages. They were just awful.

"I was monitoring the games he was playing so there was no violence or anything he shouldn't see at his age - and the whole time a disgusting pervert was able to talk to him.

"It's awful. Just disgusting. I don't know if it was a man or a woman - I don't know how old the person was.

"I feel naive for not realising people like that could get in touch with him, but I'm also furious it isn't clear on the packaging. The console should come with a leaflet that explains how it step-by-step.

"Parents should be aware and be able to put in all the blockers easily."
XBox Live is bought separately from the XBox to allow gamers to communicate with their friends. It comes with a headset for talking in the virtual world.

But many shocked parents said it was not clear they can be spoken to by adults in a private chat.

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The mum, aged 28 and from the West Midlands, instantly replied to one of the messages sent to her son and told them to leave her family alone, before taking the Xbox away.

But it did not deter the predator who sent yet more messages asking: "Was that your dad?"
Reading through them she discovered the person had discussed male and female genitals, asking once "do you think I have saggy t***?"

XBox Live does have child settings which can be installed. These mean parents have to approve all correspondence and friend requests.

The single mum-of-three who said she is “not tech-savvy” had asked a relative to install the console and the games, but said nothing flashed up to ask about setting up chat blocks.
The mum was alerted to the messages by her daughter who saw her older brother talking to someone.

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One predator was even reported asking a young boy for pictures of his genitals

Now, the the boy can only use his XBox under supervision.

She said: "When we were children none of this happened. We were told to avoid the man in the white van; paedophiles would have to physically approach you.

"Now they can reach right into the kids' bedrooms and access them.
"I don't let him on Facebook or anything like that because I know he could be contacted that way; I thought the Xbox was safe.

"All this instant technology it just moves so fast.
"Xbox needs to act and make it clear as day how to stop people reaching your kids."

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The mother said she was horrified to find the 'vulgar' messages

Another mum from Portsmouth experienced a similar situation after her son told her he had been “making friends online”.

The 30-year-old said: "His dad and I went on and found the messages and we were so mad. I wanted to smash the entire box when I saw the messages.

"We cannot get our heads around why we weren't warned from the get-go. Little boys love these machines and they are bought for them every day.

"We have put the blocks on now, but it's too late to stop our son seeing revolting language. I feel sick knowing people talked to him like that in my own home."

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XBox Live is bought separately from the XBox to allow gamers to communicate with their friends

A spokeswoman for Microsoft, creators of both XBox and Minecraft, defended its attempts to keep children safe.

She said:“With both the Xbox One and Xbox 360, we offer advanced parental controls, empowering adults to choose the content, communication and sharing settings that are right for their families.

"We know that within families, one size doesn’t always fit all - that’s why all parental controls on Xbox One can be set and customised for each family member’s individual profile."

She added there are options when you first set up the console, in the "privacy and online safety" section.

More information can be found on the Xbox.com website.
Minecraft was developed in 2011 and has seen over 70 million copies sold