Woman Claims She Was Targeted for Trafficking | ABC 7

Woman claims she was targeted for trafficking in Pinellas County

By ABC-7 - September 28. 2018
Click here to read the article on Lehigh Acres Citizen.

PINELLAS COUNTY- Is women's safety being compromised?Mothers, daughters, and sisters are all claiming to be targets of trafficking in the grocery store."They've got to be very careful coming in and out of parking lots," said Lynne Knowles in a viral Facebook video.

The viral video has been viewed more than four million times and shared more than 139,000 times.

But is this video the real deal?

Experts said that without real evidence, there's no way to tell if this is a case of human trafficking or not."We live in a society today, unfortunately, where some horrific things are going on. So we really can't rule anything out," Christy Ivie said.

Ivie is the founder and president of Christy's Cause which is a nonprofit organization working to eradicate human trafficking.

She said in a case like this, there's no way to be sure.

"We don't know what she was sensing, but we do know that she was sensing danger," Ivie continued.

Human trafficking or not, Ivie says the viral video is an excellent reminder to always be on alert, and look out for warning signs.

"Data does tell us that most human trafficking victims have known their trafficker through some type of relationship," Ivie explained.

Someone who may be overly eager to help you, using control tactics, or isolating you from family or friends could be a potential threat.

In a statement, Publix said they are working with local law enforcement in Pinellas County to get to the bottom of this.

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