Alberta man, 18, charged after allegedly tracking victims via Snapchat location
ALERT's Internet Child Exploitation unit says the suspect used Snapchat to find a victim's home after threatening two youths into sending explicit videos.
Why it matters
Police are urging Alberta parents to disable location sharing on kids' social media apps to prevent similar tracking and extortion cases.
Alberta's Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit, part of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT), has arrested an 18-year-old after an investigation found he allegedly used Snapchat's location-sharing feature to track two youth victims, including travelling to one victim's family home.
ALERT alleges the suspect spoke with the victims online and threatened them into sharing sexually explicit videos of themselves. Investigators say the victims complied out of fear because the suspect appeared to know their home address and school. Arshdeep Singh, known online as "max_bxyz," was arrested Sept. 10, 2026, and faces charges including child luring, extortion, criminal harassment, and multiple counts related to making, possessing and accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials.
Staff Sgt. Alison Church of ICE called the case "a manifestation of every parent's worst fears" and urged parents to talk to their children about safe social media use and to disable location tracking. The investigation began after a victim's family member contacted police in August 2026, and Zebra Child Protection Centre and the Edmonton Police Service are assisting.
ICE is investigating whether there are further victims and is asking anyone with information to contact police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.