Social networking sites are easy places to lure young women with empty promises, say experts, after a Calgary man was charged with human trafficking.

"Those who seek out children to exploit are very good at identifying those who may not have great self esteem, loners, those who perhaps don't have that adult male influence, and they will find them in these chat rooms, game rooms, web rooms et cetera and then they will move in," said Paul Gillespie, head of the Kids' Internet Safety Alliance.

Calgary police allege that Codie Toby Cardinal, 38, was using the sites to convince women that they would become models if they came to the city. Instead, they found themselves being used as prostitutes, advertised through an online service.

Police recently found four females, aged 16 to 20, who were allegedly victimized by the operation. Three of the girls are from Saskatoon.

Benjamin Perrin, a human trafficking expert and assistant professor in the University of British Columbia's faculty of law, said predators tend to look for underage girls because they're more impressionable — and more in demand.

Pose as boyfriends, promoters

Predators pose as boyfriends, or music promoters, and often use Facebook where young people spend a lot of time, said Perrin.

As head of the Numa Models in Calgary, Maxwell Bracey knows the industry has its fair share of bad seeds.

"It's easy to prey on young people, when all you need to do is tell them they're beautiful or they're attractive, or they could become an actress or they could make money. So they're very vulnerable in that situation," he said.

Bracey said it's easy for someone pretending to be a recruiter to create a website or print a few business cards to look legitimate.

Having parents involved, and checking references, is important in avoiding fake offers, he said.

2 youths in protective care

Two of the females found in Calgary remain in protective care while two have returned home.

"These youth are coming from difficult circumstances and it's to provide them with the supports to maintain their safety and well being," said Stuart Elson, spokesman for Alberta Children and Youth Services.

The department sees about 100 young women every year in situations like this, Elson added.

Cardinal, also known as Brooklyn Cardinal, 38, of Calgary, has been charged with:

• Two counts of human trafficking.
• Two counts of benefiting from trafficking in people.
• One count each of procuring a person to become a prostitute, living on the avails of prostitution and living on the avails of a prostitute under the age of 18.

In Canada, there have been five convictions for human trafficking and 24 investigations are pending, said the RCMP.