Internet Safety
Children
Chatting with kids about being online
You may be concerned that your kids could find pornography, violence, or hate speech online. You can reduce these risks by talking to your kids about how they communicate — online and off — and encouraging them to engage in conduct they can be proud of.
Callersmart.com is a great resource for parents to get more information on how to keep their children safe on the internet.
Basic Online Safety Rules for Kids
1. I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents’ permission.
2. I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
3. I will never agree to get together with someone I meet online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will make sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along.
4. I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents.
5. I will never respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do, I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the online service.
Basic guidelines courtesy of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (www.MissingKids.com).
Below is an educational video.
Adults
There has been a drastic increase in identity theft and credit card fraud due to the increasing use of technology. These types of crimes are becoming much more prevalent and are resulting in more complex investigations.
Basic Online Safety Rules for Everyone
- Only use websites, which are secure and you know are legitimate.
- Get a credit card that you only use on-line. This will help the investigator if you become a victim. If you only use the card on-line, law enforcement will know that is where they should begin their investigation. It will also benefit you if you only have one card.
- If you don’t recognize the address of the email sender, delete the email
- If you are directed to another website be very careful and make sure it’s a valid website. Many false websites look so similar to the real websites that it is difficult to tell the difference between the actual website and the fraudulent website.
- Do NOT respond to free offers. As in all cases, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.
- Watch out for “phishing” scams— these are unsolicited emails that attempt to get you to provide confidential information.
- If you’re buying or selling items, make sure the money order / check is real and get the money before you send the item. If the other person tells you he or she is going to give you more money than you asked and he or she needs you to cash the check and then send some of it back, IT’S A SCAM.
- Check www.snopes.com to look up current email scams and fraud.
- Credit Score Quick Acomprehensive source for Credit Card and Credit Reports online.
- Host Merchant Services provides a thorough discussion and list of resources about identity theft. By including this link, we are in no way endorcing the products of this company.
- Net Credit: Identity Theft Guide and Credit Protection Guide
Identity Theft Victims
If you are a victim of identity theft, please see the following websites for answers to many common questions.
Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Recovery Steps
The Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft website offers comprehensive information. Here is a link to an identity theft brochure (PDF) and a more comprehensive guide (PDF) for victims of identity theft that includes the ID Theft Affidavit.