Police in Pleasanton are working with Instagram to try and figure out who is asking kids for pornographic photos.
Parents of children enrolled in the Pleasanton Unified School District were sent an email on Thursday warning them that someone is messaging students through the social media site, asking for explicit photos in exchange for naked photos of the user.
Police are trying to track down the person who owns the Instagram account suspected of contacting students. They say the suspicious activity began in January and February but wasn't reported by students to police in April.
The email says the account appears to be from outside the community.
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The district is not saying exactly how many students were contacted through the photo-sharing mobile app, or what grade levels the kids are in.
Pleasanton police said in a statement that they have launched an initial investigation into the allegations and are interviewing "involved parties" but added, "These investigations are quite complicated and require a significant amount of time, effort and collaboration from social media outlets and the courts."
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District officials say the incidents did not take place at school or on school computers.They are reminding parents to talk to their kids about social media safety.
The school district and Pleasanton police are asking for anyone or any parent with information to call the Pleasanton Police Department at (925) 931-5100.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
