The FBI does not think the internet has created sex offenders, but a top FBI profiler said the technology has made finding victims much easier for predators.

“It certainly tends to be a target rich environment for them,” said FBI Profiler Jennifer Eakin, in an exclusive interview with kgw.com.

kgw.com graphic

Fifteen million children have their pictures posted somewhere online. Sixty-one percent of teens have a personal profile on social pages like myspace.com.

"Certain of these social networking systems are fertile ground for offenders who are interested in a concentrated population of victims within their particular interest area."

Eakin teaches FBI agents who go online posing as teens about the minds and methods of internet sex offenders.

More: Keeping Kids Safe

She said online sexual predators are looking for young teens, who are rebellious, angry with their parents or sexually curious. She said those are factors that describe most teenagers.

According to the FBI, the best victim is one a predator determines to be vulnerable.

Eakin said offenders typically use test questions to find out if they’re chatting with a potential victim. She said the predator will bring up sex in a chat and then ask the teen if they’ve spoken to their parents about the topic. If they have not, Eakin says that tells the offender the teen may be willing to take the conversation to the next level.

"Here's something this individual is sharing with me that he hasn't even shared with his parents, and perhaps the reason is because there isn't open communication,” said Eakin, “That's a vulnerability that's now been assessed and may be exploited."

While Eakin does not believe the internet has created more predators, she does think the number of potential victims online has made offenders bolder.

"There is certainly the perception by many offenders, that the internet provides them a certain kind of anonymity, which is perhaps liberating."

The profiler said parents should closely monitor their child’s internet use.

She said children should not post any personal information online and kids should not chat with strangers.