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Internet Safety
The internet is a excellent tool for education,
entertainment and research. Like anything else, there can be
dangers on-line. We would like to provide you with some
information to try and make the internet experience safer for
everyone.
 A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety
The following information is re-printed from an F.B.I.
brochure.
Dear Parent:
Our children are our Nation's most valuable assets. They
represent the bright future of our country and hold our hopes
for a better Nation. Our children are also the most vulnerable
members of society. Protecting our children against the fear
of crime and from becoming victims of crime must be a national
priority. Unfortunately the same advances in computer and
telecommunication technology that allow our children to reach
out to new sources of knowledge and cultural experiences are
also leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and harm by
computer-sex offenders.
 I hope that this pamphlet helps you to begin to understand the
complexities of on-line child exploitation. For further
information, please contact your local FBI office or the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at
1-800-843-5687.
Louis J. Freeh
Director F.B.I.
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.
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?
1. 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.
2. You find pornography on your child's
computer.
Pornography is often used in the sexual victimization of
children. Sex offenders often sup-ply 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.
3. Your child receives phone calls from men you
don't know or is making calls, some-times 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.
4. 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.
5 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.
6. 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.
7. 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?
1. Consider talking openly with your child about
your suspicions. Tell them about the dangers of computer-sex
offenders.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Monitor your child's access to all types of
live electronic communications (i.e., char 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.
6. 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:
a. Your child or anyone in the household has
received child pornography;
b. Your child has been sexually solicited by
someone who knows that your child is under 18 years of age;
c. 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 nor 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?
1. Communicate, and talk to your child about
sexual victimization and potential on-line danger.
2. Spend time with your children on-line. Have
them teach you about their favorite on-line destinations.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Teach your child the responsible use of the
resources on-line. There is much more to the on-line
experience than chat rooms.
7. 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.
8. Understand, even if your child was a willing
participant in any form of sexual exploitation, that he/she
is not at fault; he/she is the victim. The offender always
bears the complete responsibility for his or her actions.
9. Instruct your children:
a. to never arrange a face-to-face meeting with
someone they met on-line;
b. to never upload (post) pictures of themselves
onto the Internet or on-line service to people they do not
personally know;
c. to never give out identifying information
such as their name, home address, school name, or telephone
number;
d. to never download pictures from on unknown
source, as there is a good chance there could be sexually
explicit images;
e. to never respond to messages or bulletin
board postings that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or
harassing;
f. that whatever they are told on-line may or
may not be true.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
Helpful Definitions
Internet - An immense, global network that connects
computers via telephone lines and/or fiber networks to
storehouses of electronic information. With only a computer,
a modem, a telephone line and a service provider, people
from all over the world can communicate and share
information with little more than a few keystrokes.
Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) - Electronic networks of
computers that are connected by a central computer setup and
operated by a sys-tem administrator or operator and are
distinguishable from the Internet by their
"dial-up" accessibility. BBS users link their
individual computers to the central BBS computer by a modem
which allows them to post messages, read messages left by
others, trade information, or hold direct conversations.
Access to a BBS can, and often is, privileged and limited to
those users who have access privileges granted by the
systems operator.
Commercial On-line Service (COS) -Examples of COSs are
America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe and Microsoft Network,
which provide access to their service for a fee. COSs
generally offer limited access to the Internet as part of
their total service package.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) -Examples of ISPs are Erols,
Concentric and Netcom. These services offer direct, full
access to the Internet at a flat, monthly rate and often
provide electronic-mail service for their customers. ISPs
often provide space on their servers for their customers to
maintain World Wide Web (WWW) sites. Not all ISPs are
commercial enterprises. Educational, governmental and
nonprofit organizations also provide Internet access to
their members.
Public Chat Rooms - Created, maintained, listed and
monitored by the COS and other public domain systems such as
Internet Relay Chat. A number of customers can be in the
public chat rooms at any given time, which are monitored for
illegal activity and even appropriate language by systems
operators (SYSOP). Some public chat rooms are monitored more
frequently than others, depending on the COS and the type of
chat room. Violators can be reported to the administrators
of the system (at America On-line they are referred to as
terms of service [105]) which can revoke user privileges.
The public chat rooms usually cover a broad range of topics
such as entertainment, sports, game rooms, children only,
etc.
Electronic Mail (E-Mail) - A function of BBSs, COSs and ISPs
which provides for the transmission of messages and files
between computers over a communications network similar to
mailing a letter via the postal service. E-mail is stored on
a server, where it will remain until the addressee retrieves
it. Anonymity can be maintained by the sender by
predetermining what the receiver will see as the
"from" address. Another way to conceal one's
identity is to use an "anonymous remailer," which
is a service that allows the user to send an e-mail message
repackaged under the remailer's own header, stripping off
the originator's name completely.
Chat - Real-time text conversation between users in a chat
room with no expectation of privacy. All chat conversation
is accessible by all individuals in the chat room while the
conversation is taking place.
Instant Messages - Private, real-time text conversation
between two users in a chat room.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) - Real-time text conversation
similar to public and/or private chat rooms on COS.
Usenet (Newsgroups) - Like a giant, cork bulletin board
where users post messages and information. Each posting is
like an open letter and is capable of having attachments,
such as graphic image files (GlFs). Anyone accessing the
newsgroup can read the postings, take copies of posted
items, or post responses. Each newsgroup can hold thousands
of postings. Currently, there are over 29,000 public
news-groups and that number is growing daily. Newsgroups are
both public and/or private. There is no listing of private
newsgroups. A user of private newsgroups has to be invited
into the newsgroup and be provided with the news-group's
address.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Office of Crimes Against
Children
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20535
Telephone (202) 324-3666
We will
be offering an Internet Safety for the Home seminar soon.
Please check back to see when it will be held. We invite all
interested people to attend; education is the biggest key to
safety on the web.
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