A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety

read this at
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm

This can help parents in India also.

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Dear Parent:

Our children are our Nation's most valuable asset. 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 1-800-843-5678.

Louis J. Freeh, Former Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Line

On-line Caution - Browsers and Search EnginesIntroduction

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.Drawing - Telephone

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:

1. Your child or anyone in the household has received child pornography;
2. Your child has been sexually solicited by someone who knows
that your child is under 18 years of age;
3. 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.

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 system
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 [TOS])
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 (GIFs).
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 newsgroups 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 newsgroup's address.