Oprah Now Predators on the internet

[Maleficent2]

Parents may want to watch....



Mal

 

[justliketink]

Is it today?

 

[Maleficent2]

yes it is on now where I live.

 

[Tampa]

dejavu.

 

[Maleficent2]

I am not sure what you mean by Dejavu Tampa I am the first to support and stand behind Child internet safety....joining a website like the DIS does not in itself set you up for predators. If you are referring to our earlier thread conversation.

Again I urge all the parents of DISers to familarize yourself with the ways these predators do ingratiate themselves on your children.


Remove the WEBCAM from your childs computer if you have a webcam for communicating with family or friends have it in a central location in your home where you can easliy view what it is being used for.

Mal

 

[lovethattink]

Oprah is not on here. It's olympics or Ellen. What are the highlights, Mal?

 

[Maleficent2]

Tink

It was basically about how the Webcam can and is being used by children/teens and how they are lured into the web the predators weave for them.


Mal

 

[VirtuallyMe]

Oprah was not shown here today either- just Olympic recaps for an hour before local news...

 

[Loves Disney]

Oprah is not on here either but:
I don't think it should just be the parents watching this. Kids and teens I think should know what is happening as well. It is such a horribe thing that I feel everyone should be aware of. I am starting to have problems with even the "real pics" thread here on dis because predators can see the pictures of the vmk'ers and find who they would most want to "talk" to. As I mentioned before in the "Don't say Dis" thread, this "predation" is starting to become more common. I am glad you started this thread Mal so that people can be reminded and warned about how much information they give about themselves on the dis. While most of everyone here on the dis are friendly, you never know who could be categorized as an online "predator".

 

[Maleficent2]

I agree that the Children/teens need to know also and my DS watched Oprah with me. But I do not feel that that show was one a child should watch alone, of course that is just my opinion.


As far as the real pictures thread we the Moderators have nothing to do with allowing or not allowing that thread it is not against DIS guidelines and it is up to you and your family just what you want to put out on the Net.

Personally you will not see any pictures of my family or me posted.


Mal

 

[Indygoof]

I must say that you should never be afraid to talk to your children about predators on and off the internet. It is scary to read about but it can be devastating to live through. I had a close call with my daughters when a local predator joined a local group in which my daughters belonged. This person befreinded everyone and was granted a place of leadership within the group which would have allowed him private quarters with children. We were fortunate in that the lawyer who prosecuted him for chils molestation, had a child also in the group and was able to blow the whistle. We spoke to our children, whom we protect well, after this event and discovered that he was already weaving his web. We were fortunate to have a good ending. Do not wait to talk to your kids or ask them questions. Let them be informed of what is out there without scaring them into being hermits. Knowledge is power. Be stingy with your information and don't give them power over you.

 

[x13igDudex12]

Tink

It was basically about how the Webcam can and is being used by children/teens and how they are lured into the web the predators weave for them.


Mal

you know they have webcams for Gaming stations like the Xbox 360 and the Playstation2. That might come up on the next episode of oprah

 

[Maleficent2]

Well it seems that most teens do not use webcams for what they were intended whether it is gaming or just talking to friends.

 

[LisaInNc]

I watched the show.

That mother was beyond lax in allowing her minor child to take trips, be out of the house where she didn't know where he was and to have a internet business that she did not keep up with. She allowed him to have large amounts of money and didn't question it nor did she monitor it in any way.

That is exactly why here we have comeputers in bedrooms without internet access. The internet is to be where I can see it and my 5 year old is not a problem but with my DSD my rule is if I can't see it, don't have it on the screen. If I walk in and a window is closed, that is a red flag to me and I will shut off the computer.

When she is on the computer I am in an out of the room just to keep an eye on things.

I have thought about getting a password retriever and having access to her e mail accounts but I would only do that if I thought something was going on. I am not a snooper by nature but with a teen I feel like I have to really watch what is going on.

Kids might not like that but as parents it is not our job to be their friends it is our job to keep them safe. So far I have managed to do both!

 

[4fosterkids]

I was able to catch Oprah here, thanks for posting about it Mal.
It was very interesting and very eye opening as a parent. I feel I am pretty on top of things with my kids, but nowadays, the kids learn faster then the adults so I feel I'm constantly trying to stay on top of these things! Luckily my DH works in the computer/IT field and is very knowledgeable about parental blocks and such. But you can never be too safe, and I agree, you must talk to your kids about these sicko's.

 

[DarkSideMoon]

Kids are getting dumber these days. Who with any common sense would put their entire lives where anyone can see them? If people would just screw in the lightbulb......

 

[Loves Disney]

I guess posting and showing such personal information has become "cool" in the eyes of some, especially with Myspace out there. Let's see how cool it becomes when those kids don't have a lightbulb entirely and have no chance left to "screw it in".

 

[VMK_KrazyLuke]

I guess posting and showing such personal information has become "cool" in the eyes of some, especially with Myspace out there. Let's see how cool it becomes when those kids don't have a lightbulb entirely and have no chance left to "screw it in".

very funny and odd you bring this up because our school has just found out that many of our schools student body has Xanga's or MySpace's and they looked at them and had the students close them down. (students decision) Or the other option was changing all the info. so they decided to shut them down. Some kids still have them but i knwo for a fact that half those ppl out there use fake ID and Pictures. (you may think it is safe but NO!)

 

[Loves Disney]

very funny and odd you bring this up because our school has just found out that many of our schools student body has Xanga's or MySpace's and they looked at them and had the students close them down. (students decision) Or the other option was changing all the info. so they decided to shut them down. Some kids still have them but i knwo for a fact that half those ppl out there use fake ID and Pictures. (you may think it is safe but NO!)

Myspace is forbidden at the High School I go to and anyone caught using it could be suspended. They tried to block it so that one could not access the site, but some kids are just too smart with computers and find ways around it. Unfortunately some of my friends use Myspace and have used way too much of their real information and that scares me. But anyway...I think I have digressed from the topic enough LOL back to Oprah lol.

 

[Maleficent2]

For those of you who did not see Oprah it was not so much about putting personal info on the Net it was how kids get sucked in by predators.

It all starts with Webcams and Chat Rooms and Kid Forum sites but could just as easily happen here.

The kid posts a picture or a webcam of themselves and people start IM him/her.

It all starts out innocently enough that is how predators work they become your friend first, gain your trust, make you think that they are a friend and move on from there.

It seems they even have chat rooms where only predators meet and exchange methods

This child started out with posting his webcam pictures of himself hoping to meet other teens especially girls his age but alot(most)of the people he met who said they were teens(girls)were not they were adult males.


The first one became his friend under the pretense of being a teen girl and worked on that friendship until one day he asked him to remove his shirt and told him he would pay him $50 for doing it and how to set up a PayPal acct.
It all snowballed from there.

Lisa brought up the point that this kids parents(mom) gave him to much freedom, while that is true, he is only one kid and there are hundreds doing just exactly the same thing he was. The Lure of the money was what got him. At one point he was making thousands a week selling himself on the web and off. He was running a kiddie porn business at 16. He got into drugs.

Now this is a child who was into sports and was an honor student until this point.

Of course there is alot more to the story but I think I hit most of the highlights. Except his biological father helped him advance his porn business the sick puppy!

So I just want to say to the Kids and the parents alike, not everyone you meet on the net and in VMK are what they say they are, your best friend is your mom and dad trust them and if you feel uncomfortable about something or anyone approaches you in a way yout hink they should not please let them know.

Mal