Pure Evil Lurking in Michigan: Human Traffickers in Our Midst

It's an unfortunate and scary truth, but human traffickers are busy at work in the state of Michigan. In the most recent data set, taken from 2021, the National Human Trafficking Hotline took 1,186 calls from Michigan, 526 of them were from survivors or victims seeking a way out.

Related: Michigan Ranks 5th in the United States For Human Trafficking

Human and sex traffickers' biggest trick is making you think they use roses or empty car seats as traps. In reality, their tactics are much more evil and sadistic.

Michigan Sex and Human Traffickers Are the Ultimate Mental Predators

Forget everything you've read about elaborate traps and kidnapping plots. These lowlifes are now posing as actual employers, offering unreal job opportunities to the most vulnerable. They are the ultimate con artists who tap into vulnerabilities and play their prey like a fiddle.

So what is their game? They are chameleons, blending into everyday life. Their interactions with victims start as simple chit-chat or even a flirtatious comment. They flatter, put their target at ease, and they are willing to put in the time to earn your trust. Once they have, BAM! The trap is set. Just a few seemingly harmless interactions turn into a web of control. It's like a harsh Michigan winter, it comes on gradually but turns cold, harsh, and unforgiving.

Their twisted minds know how to exploit their victims' desires, fears, and dreams into something diabolical. They don't leave roses or zip-ties, they plant seeds of doubt that eventually grow into dependence.

Related: 5 FBI and Michigan Attorney General Scam Alerts

The key to protecting yourself and those you care for in Michigan is to stay alert. If you or a friend gets a job offer that seems too good to be true it probably is. If you start to feel that your new significant other doesn't have your best interest at heart, leave, call a friend, go to a shelter, or go anywhere that isn't with the person who is attempting to control you.

As the saying goes, "The Devil's greatest trick was convincing the world he doesn't exist". Michigan sex and human traffickers' biggest accomplishment is convincing the public to watch out for elaborate kidnapping plots in parking lots, instead of focusing on the people who are slowly but surely turning you, or someone you love in a horrible direction.

If you need help, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline, at 1-888-373-7888.