Derbyshire Police issue urgent warning to schools

Local schools have been made aware of a large and very active WhatsApp Group called ‘Add every person in your contacts except grown-ups.'

The group has allegedly been circulating since 8th July, and it is believed that hundreds of children from the local area, including pupils from primary schools, have joined.

The content being shared in the group is largely inappropriate and could include:

• GIFs and memes of a graphic sexual nature
• Anti-Semitic material and other offensive themes
• Numerous selfies and personal images

Derbyshire Constabulary state that at present there does not appear to be any explicit photos or videos of young people, but they are particularly concerned about the potential numbers of children who may be involved and the possible sharing of personal images.

Parents and carers are being encourage to:

• Check your child's phone and social media apps to see if they are part of this or any similar groups
• Have a conversation with your child about the risks of joining large group chats with unknown people
• Remind them about appropriate on-line behaviour and the importance of any inappropriate content

Adding everyone to a WhatsApp group, often referred to as an 'Add Everyone' group, is generally not safe and can expose users to various risks. These groups can easily become filled with inappropriate content, and because it's difficult to control who joins, strangers could gain access to sensitive information and/or expose others to harmful material.

If you need to report an incident of cybercrime contact Derbyshire Constabulary on 101.