 If your child
has a home computer or access to a friend's computer, particularly
if they have connected to the internet, or a bulletin board service
please take the time to review this guide.
With the ever increasing development of computer technology and
the increasing number of people who are computer literate, it is
much more likely that our children will be victimized or exploited
in a computer environment.
The "Information Super High-
way" which is made up of BBS services, commercial on-line services
such as Prodigy, America Online, CompuServe and the Internet allow
millions of people around the world to communicate anonymously in
a virtually uncontrolled electronic world.
Just as we tell our children not to talk to strangers and watch
and direct where they go and whom they meet in the "real world"
we need to be aware of the dangers in the electronic world and exercise
these same cautions. Parents have unknowingly allowed their children
to invite criminals into their homes via the computer that resulted
in the child becoming involved in criminal activities and all too
often victimized by persons who would never have been allowed in
the home by the parents.
"Today's children are being weaned on video games and quickly
move to computers. Society has high hopes for this technically literate
generation, but the proliferation of microcomputers and computer
literacy also means that more and more assets will be stored on
computer systems and the community of potential computer criminals
will increase astronomically." Dr. Willis Ware, Rand Corporation,
Santa Monica, Ca.
1. Tip for safe computing. Advise your children
to observe the following safety rules whenever they are on-line.
Remind them that no matter how safe or friendly a BBS seems (and
this includes the major on-line services), there is always a
potential for danger.
a. Never give out any personal information
about themselves - particularly real names, addresses, phone numbers,
financial information, etc. to anyone that they meet on computer
bulletin boards. The above is not meant to preclude giving your
name, phone, address and credit card number to online services that
often require them to open an account.
You may also find you can order services and products via online
services and we are not discouraging this. Making purchases online
with a credit card is probably just as safe as it is in person at
a store.
What we are concerned about is giving personal and credit information
out online to people you meet in chat or E-mail. It is the same
as using a telephone. When you call a business and order products
by phone you know who you are calling and can feel secure in giving
them you credit card. When they call you, you have no way of knowing
if you are talking to a legitimate business or a crook. |
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b. Do not fill in the "Member Profile"
section used by online services where you fill in your name,
address, age, school, sex, interests etc. This allows any
online user access to personal information. If you want to
put anything in here, use your handle and interests. Skip
the address and other personal info.
c. Be aware of undesirable chat rooms
and bulletin boards. Use the "parental discretion" options
where necessary to block these areas.
d. Don't respond to anyone who leaves
you obnoxious, sexual or menacing E-mail.
You should not become involved in public "Flame" sessions.
You have no idea who you are dealing with and what access
an individ-
ual may have to your personal or on-line account information.
Many services provide a "kill" file where they can automatically
block messages from these persons.
e. Report all electronic harass-ment and/or
abuse to their parents.
As parents, you should notify the BBS SYSOP (system operator)
of the problem. If the SYSOP does not give you satisfaction
in stopping this abuse, notify the police.
f. Never set up face to face meetings with anyone you
have met on the BBS. If anyone you meet on-line wants to meet
you - tell your parents. Notify the police of all attempts
by adults to set up meetings with your children. This is by
far the most dangerous situation for children and should be
reported to law enforcement.
2. Warning signs of possible computer crime problems. Note:
these are warning signs only and are meant as warnings
of possible problems, not evidence of a problem.
a. Computer addiction. Withdraws from
friends, family, and "lives on the computer" may lose interest
in social activities.
b. Use of new or unusual vocabulary,
heavy with computer terms, satanic phrases, sexual reference
or sudden interest in related hard rock or satanic oriented
posters, music, etc.
Look for related doodling or writing using of words such as:
Hacking, Phreaking or any words with "ph" replacing "f."
c. Lack of interest in self and appearance,
grooming and hygiene or indications of lack of sleep, sudden
drop in school grades and unauthorized absences from classes.
3. Other potential danger signs
a. The computer and modem are running
late at night, even when unattended.
b. Computer files ending in GIF, JPG,
BMP, TIF, PCX, DL, GL, FLI, MPG, AVI, MOV. These are picture
or graphic image files.
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