Police in Michigan are warning parents after a sex offender was able to get the phone numbers of two children through unknown means.
Update 2:35 p.m. EDT Aug. 13: Police initially said the phone numbers were obtained through the online game Roblox. In an update Friday, authorities said investigators were unable to determine how the numbers were obtained.
In a statement, officials with Roblox said the entertainment platform “supports imaginative play in a safe, supportive environment.”
“We can assure you that we take safety on our platform seriously and have features and processes in place to protect our community from sharing personally identifiable information,” the statement said.
Among other measures, the company uses automated technology to monitor and “when appropriate filter” the communication between users. The company also has restrictions surrounding what users under 13 years old can share.
Original report: According to the Marshall Police Department's Facebook page and WWMT, a "concerned parent" contacted authorities after the children, who are 9 and 10, began receiving text messages "from an unknown subject." Police described the conversations as "non-offensive and short," WWMT reported.
"Officers researched the number that was contacting the children and discovered it belonged to a subject on parole and who is also on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry," the department posted Saturday. "The suspect was arrested by local parole agents for the offense."
Police also issued the following warning:
"Popular online cell phone games such as 'Roblox' and 'Minecraft,' when played online in public mode, allow other players to obtain personal information from each other," the department wrote. "Parents are encouraged to monitor their children's online use of games, who they are speaking with, and the dangers of speaking with unknown subjects."
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