The teenagers, students at Maitland High School, were approached by a male online when they were playing a computer game at a friend’s house.

The man, believed to be located in the United States, asked for nude photographs. The matter came to the Fairfax Media’s attention after one of the teenager’s parents posted a warning on Facebook.

The parent warned other parents to remind their children about the dangers of sexual predators online.

He said he had received a call from his child’s school telling him that one of the child’s friends had been contacted on Facebook by a person asking for nude photographs.

“I know that many of our children are friends on Facebook and may be exposed to this person,” he said in his post. He praised the school for acting so promptly on the issue.

Central Hunter crime manager Detective Inspector Mitch Dubojski said police had not received a report about the incident as of late last week.

He urged people who came across these types of incidents to immediately contact police and make a report, so a formal investigation could be launched.

Inspector Dubojski said detectives had skills and tools at their disposal to track down people allegedly involved in cyber crime, including by tracing IP addresses.

But he said police could not launch an investigation based solely on an allegation made through a Facebook post. He added that people needed to report crime over the phone or in person at Maitland Police Station.

Maitland High School principal Paula Graham said one of the students spoke about the incident with a teacher who immediately raised the alarm with parents. She said that teacher had conversations with each of the parents to alert them about what had occurred.

“The school has a pro-active approach to incidents such as this. Our students’ safety is paramount,” she said.

Ms Graham said the good thing was that one of the students felt comfortable enough about raising the issue with a teacher even though the matter occurred outside school hours.