Barbra Gemen, a mother from the Netherlands, recently disclosed that her young son was able to secretly buy an AK-47 off the dark web, which she described as “something out of a movie.”
According to Gemen, her son had begun hacking at the age of eight and began ordering items online without paying for them, starting with something relatively minor such as free pizza.
As his dealings progressed, he would use code phrases such as “Pitt is coming to our place” whenever Gemen entered a room to hide his activities. He was even being used to launder money for others.
Gemen was shocked when the gun and ammunition arrived at her doorstep, and she soon realized the extent of her son’s actions.
To take control of the situation, Gemen contacted law enforcement and her son’s school, but her concerns were brushed off. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Gemen monitored her son’s online activity and, when he revealed that he was being asked to hack and steal information from companies, she helped him break contact with the hackers.
Gemen now works with the Dutch police as a Cyber Special Volunteer and is part of a new task force called the Cyber Offender Prevention Squad (COPS) to help inform other parents of the dangers their children can face online.