|
Includes FREE Norton Antivirus SE (6 months) and Ad-Aware SE Personal AntiSpyware
|
|
|
Tips from the FBI on Internet Safety* |
|
Introduction |
 While on-line computer exploration opens a world of possibilities
for children, expanding their horizons and exposing them to different cultures and
ways of life, they can be exposed to dangers as they hit the road exploring the
information highway. There are individuals who attempt to sexually exploit children
through the use of on-line services and the Internet. Some of these individuals
gradually seduce their targets through the use of attention, affection, kindness,
and even gifts. These individuals are often willing to devote considerable amounts
of time, money, and energy in this process. They listen to and empathize with the
problems of children. They will be aware of the latest music, hobbies, and interests
of children. These individuals attempt to gradually lower children's inhibitions
by slowly introducing sexual context and content into their conversations.
There are other individuals, however, who immediately engage in sexually explicit
conversation with children. Some offenders primarily collect and trade child-pornographic
images, while others seek face-to-face meetings with children via on-line contacts.
It is important for parents to understand that children can be indirectly victimized
through conversation, i.e. "chat," as well as the transfer of sexually explicit
information and material. Computer-sex offenders may also be evaluating children
they come in contact with on-line for future face-to-face contact and direct victimization.
Parents and children should remember that a computer-sex offender can be any age
or sex the person does not have to fit the caricature of a dirty, unkempt, older
man wearing a raincoat to be someone who could harm a child.
Children, especially adolescents, are sometimes interested in and curious about
sexuality and sexually explicit material. They may be moving away from the total
control of parents and seeking to establish new relationships outside their family.
Because they may be curious, children/adolescents sometimes use their on-line access
to actively seek out such materials and individuals. Sex offenders targeting children
will use and exploit these characteristics and needs. Some adolescent children may
also be attracted to and lured by on-line offenders closer to their age who, although
not technically child molesters, may be dangerous. Nevertheless, they have been
seduced and manipulated by a clever offender and do not fully understand or recognize
the potential danger of these contacts.
This guide was prepared from actual investigations involving child victims, as well
as investigations where law enforcement officers posed as children. Further information
on protecting your child on-line may be found in the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Child Safety on the
Information Highway and Teen Safety on the Information Highway pamphlets.
|
|
What Are Signs That Your Child Might Be At Risk On-line? |
|
Your child spends large amounts of time on-line, especially at night. |
Most children that fall victim to computer-sex offenders spend large amounts of
time on-line, particularly in chat rooms. They may go on-line after dinner and on
the weekends. They may be latchkey kids whose parents have told them to stay at
home after school. They go on-line to chat with friends, make new friends, pass
time, and sometimes look for sexually explicit information. While much of the knowledge
and experience gained may be valuable, parents should consider monitoring the amount
of time spent on-line.
Children on-line are at the greatest risk during the evening hours. While offenders
are on-line around the clock, most work during the day and spend their evenings
on-line trying to locate and lure children or seeking pornography.
|
|
You find pornography on your child's computer. |
Pornography is often used in the sexual victimization of children. Sex offenders
often supply their potential victims with pornography as a means of opening sexual
discussions and for seduction. Child pornography may be used to show the child victim
that sex between children and adults is "normal." Parents should be conscious of
the fact that a child may hide the pornographic files on diskettes from them. This
may be especially true if the computer is used by other family members.
|
|
Your child receives phone calls from men you don't know or is making calls, sometimes
long distance, to numbers you don't recognize. |
 While talking to a child victim on-line is a thrill for a computer-sex
offender, it can be very cumbersome. Most want to talk to the children on the telephone.
They often engage in "phone sex" with the children and often seek to set up an actual
meeting for real sex.
While a child may be hesitant to give out his/her home phone number, the computer-sex
offenders will give out theirs. With Caller ID, they can readily find out the child's
phone number. Some computer-sex offenders have even obtained toll-free 800 numbers,
so that their potential victims can call them without their parents finding out.
Others will tell the child to call collect. Both of these methods result in the
computer-sex offender being able to find out the child's phone number.
|
|
Your child receives mail, gifts, or packages from someone you don't know. |
As part of the seduction process, it is common for offenders to send letters, photographs,
and all manner of gifts to their potential victims. Computer-sex offenders have
even sent plane tickets in order for the child to travel across the country to meet
them.
|
|
Your child turns the computer monitor off or quickly changes the screen on the monitor
when you come into the room. |
A child looking at pornographic images or having sexually explicit conversations
does not want you to see it on the screen.
|
|
Your child becomes withdrawn from the family. |
Computer-sex offenders will work very hard at driving a wedge between a child and
their family or at exploiting their relationship. They will accentuate any minor
problems at home that the child might have. Children may also become withdrawn after
sexual victimization.
|
|
Your child is using an on-line account belonging to someone else. |
Even if you don't subscribe to an on-line service or Internet
service, your child may meet an offender while on-line at a friend's house or the
library. Most computers come preloaded with on-line and/or Internet software. Computer-sex
offenders will sometimes provide potential victims with a computer account for communications
with them.
|
|
What Should You Do If You Suspect Your Child Is Communicating With A Sexual Predator
On-line? |
- Consider talking openly with your child about your suspicions. Tell them about the
dangers of computer-sex offenders.
- Review what is on your child's computer. If you don't know how, ask a friend, coworker,
relative, or other knowledgeable person. Pornography or any kind of sexual communication
can be a warning sign.
- Use the Caller ID service to determine who is calling your child. Most telephone
companies that offer Caller ID also offer a service that allows you to block your
number from appearing on someone else's Caller ID. Telephone companies also offer
an additional service feature that rejects incoming calls that you block. This rejection
feature prevents computer-sex offenders or anyone else from calling your home anonymously.
- Devices can be purchased that show telephone numbers that have been dialed from
your home phone. Additionally, the last number called from your home phone can be
retrieved provided that the telephone is equipped with a redial feature. You will
also need a telephone pager to complete this retrieval.
- This is done using a numeric-display pager and another phone that is on the same
line as the first phone with the redial feature. Using the two phones and the pager,
a call is placed from the second phone to the pager. When the paging terminal beeps
for you to enter a telephone number, you press the redial button on the first (or
suspect) phone. The last number called from that phone will then be displayed on
the pager.
- Monitor your child's access to all types of live electronic communications (i.e.,
chat rooms, instant messages, Internet Relay Chat, etc.), and
monitor your child's e-mail. Computer-sex offenders almost always meet potential victims via chat rooms.
After meeting a child on-line, they will continue to communicate electronically
often via e-mail.
Should any of the following situations arise in your household, via the Internet
or on-line service, you should immediately contact your local or state law enforcement
agency, the FBI, and the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Your child or anyone in the household has received child pornography;
- Your child has been sexually solicited by someone who knows that your child is under
18 years of age;
- Your child has received sexually explicit images from someone that knows your child
is under the age of 18.
If one of these scenarios occurs, keep the computer turned off in order to preserve
any evidence for future law enforcement use. Unless directed to do so by the law
enforcement agency, you should not attempt to copy any of the images and/or text
found on the computer.
|
|
What Can You Do To Minimize The Chances Of An On-line Exploiter Victimizing Your
Child? |
- Communicate, and talk to your child about sexual victimization and potential on-line
danger.
- Spend time with your children on-line. Have them teach you about their favorite
on-line destinations.
- Keep the computer in a common room in the house, not in your child's bedroom. It
is much more difficult for a computer-sex offender to communicate with a child when
the computer screen is visible to a parent or another member of the household.
- Utilize parental controls
provided by your service provider and/or blocking software.
While electronic chat can be a great place for children to make new friends and
discuss various topics of interest, it is also prowled by computer-sex offenders.
Use of chat rooms, in particular, should be heavily monitored. While parents should
utilize these mechanisms, they should not totally rely on them.
- Always maintain access to your child's on-line account and randomly check his/her
e-mail. Be aware that your child could be contacted through the U.S. Mail. Be up
front with your child about your access and reasons why.
- Teach your child the responsible use of the resources on-line. There is much more
to the on-line experience than chat rooms.
- Find out what computer safeguards are utilized by your child's school, the public
library, and at the homes of your child's friends. These are all places, outside
your normal supervision, where your child could encounter an on-line predator.
- Understand, even if your child was a willing participant in any form of sexual exploitation,
that he/she is not at fault and is the victim. The offender always bears the complete
responsibility for his or her actions.
- Instruct your children:
- to never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they met on- line;
- to never upload (post) pictures of themselves onto the Internet or on-line service
to people they do not personally know;
- to never give out identifying information such as their name, home address, school
name, or telephone number;
- to never download pictures from an unknown source, as there is a good chance there
could be sexually explicit images;
- to never respond to messages or bulletin board postings that are suggestive, obscene,
belligerent, or harassing;
- that whatever they are told on-line may or may not be true.
|
|
Frequently Asked Questions: |
|
My child has received an e-mail advertising for a pornographic website, what should
I do? |
Generally, advertising for an adult, pornographic website that is sent to an e-mail
address does not violate federal law or the current laws of most states. In some
states it may be a violation of law if the sender knows the recipient is under the
age of 18. Such advertising can be reported to your service provider and, if known,
the service provider of the originator. It can also be reported to your state and
federal legislators, so they can be made aware of the extent of the problem.
|
|
Is any service safer than the others? |
Sex offenders have contacted children via most of the major on-line services and
the Internet. The most important factors in keeping your child safe on-line are
the utilization of appropriate blocking software and/or parental controls, along
with open, honest discussions with your child,
monitoring his/her on-line activity,
and following the tips in this pamphlet.
|
|
Should I just forbid my child from going on-line? |
There are dangers in every part of our society. By educating your children to these
dangers and taking appropriate steps to protect them, they can benefit from the
wealth of information now available on-line.
|
* Excerpted from the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Publication "A Parent's
Guide to Internet Safety"
|