(SALISBURY, Md.)- The Eastern Shore Human Trafficking Task Force, the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the City of Salisbury, and Aglow Mid-Atlantic sponsored a one-day conference on human trafficking Saturday, Jan. 30 at Salisbury University.
In 2014, 396 human trafficking survivors were identified and provided services in Maryland - nearly double the number in the previous year. Officials say it is likely that many more victims either did not, or could not, come forward.
Conference organizer Edwin Thomas says that perpetrators use social media and other websites, like Craigslist and Backpage.com, to find their victims.
"They will look on Facebook and see young ladies who seem to be having problems and then they know how to get in touch with them, how to contact them, and how to victimize them," said Thomas.
A special agent with Department Homeland Security says she notices "more sex trafficking cases as opposed to labor trafficking."
Thomas Stack, a human trafficking policy analyst for the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, says human trafficking is a serious issue that's happening everywhere.
"Most people think human trafficking (is only) in the inner city, but it's all over here as you can see, because one of the biggest sentences in the history of the state of Maryland has been here on the eastern shore in Salisbury," said Stack.
Stack helps raise awareness throughout Maryland, as well as train officers for these kind of investigations.
"It's difficult to investigate, because it's often hidden behind closed doors. Victims don't really know they're being victimized. They think it's just the way it's supposed to be."