Online Predators - Keep Your Kids Safe
Tips to keep kids safe online 2/3/06 They're on-line and on the streets. Sexual predators using the Internet to find their victims. And as Dateline NBC showed Friday night, these predators can be just about anybody. Friday night, NEWS 10NBC spoke with some local kids about the people they've met online and what precautions they're taking. Kori is crazy about the computer. Though most of her chats are positive. Not all of them have been. Kori has had some scary encounters while online, but she has learned how to stop them if she is uncomfortable. 15-year-old Katy knows the feeling. She told us what happened to her when she posted her picture and profile on-line. “He just kept on messaging me, and I wouldn't respond, and eventually, he's just like, 'So you won't meet me?' And I was like 'No.' And he said, 'I’m going to find you and I’m going to kill you.'” recalls Katy. That's why Monroe County Sheriff's Investigator Andy White is in those chat rooms too. White, along with the other law enforcement officers, use the Internet to get to online predators. In one sting, it took only one minute for a man to offer up a naked web cam image. Soon, White gets four conversations with adult males going at once. One of his conversations led to the arrest of Dale Trimmer. Trimmer is a former East Rochester EMT. “He in fact met us and met undercover officers, and he was taken into custody,” White recalls. The work takes time and can be difficult, but the results are worth it, especially for Katy. “It’s great knowing that there are people on there and that they're trying to keep you safe,” she says. The kids were very willing to give other kids tips for staying safe online. If you have a myspace.com account, you can choose a 'privacy' setting, which allows only people on your list of friends to access your account. Kori also recommends changing your screen name if you receive scary email. This small step can cut down on the number of times kids get approached. Meanwhile, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says one in five kids has been solicited online. http://www.10nbc.com/news.asp?template=item&story_id=17663