RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) -- The Invictus Project task force has been working hard to catch child predators in our community. The task force is made up of local law enforcement agencies in Randolph, Alamance, Davidson and Forsyth counties. They are assigned to investigate any cyber tips of child exploitation. In 2024, the task force identified more than 450 victims, made 77 arrests, rescued 10 children and closed out 363 cyber tips. They’ve been hard at work but the founder of the Invictus Project Ray Dawson says their work has only just begun. Since 2019, there has been over a 500 percent increase in cases. They credit this to the current generation growing up in a world of social media.  “The days of the creepy van are over. The cellphone has replaced the creepy white van,” Dawson said. The most vulnerable population is now being targeted online.  “Any platform that your child is online they are at risk because the predators are hunting where the prey is,” Dawson said. Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Minecraft are some of the online platforms where children could be at risk. Anywhere the kids are, the predators are finding a way to befriend them. Now the Invictus Project task force is working to pick out the predators and bring them to justice.  “That’s where we take on a persona of an undercover capacity. We get on these social media platforms that our children are on. We portray ourselves as children ... Then we arrest people that show up expecting, intending to have sex with that minor child,” Dawson said. They know where to go based on tips from internet providers or internet sites reporting tips as mandated reporters.  “So they use technology like web crawlers and different things like that to be able to scan communications and content to see if there’s any presence of child sex abuse material,” Dawson said. Oftentimes, for every one predator, there are 13 victims.  “The task force spends a lot of time and a lot of resources trying to identify these victims ... That is at the very core of what we do,” Dawson said. January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Dawson says for parents, the best prevention is to know what is on your child's phone and to be present in their life.