Internet Predator Facts and Signs
Monday, March 1, 2010
Internet predators are out there. Period. They are lurking in the corners of the same spaces your loved ones are in. The Internet provides a shield for the growing number of predators out there. It allows for them to use fake aliases and photos in order to pretend they’re someone else. Internet predators target both boys and girls of all ages. They lie and manipulate, try to come across as someone who “cares” or someone who “listens” to them, especially during a rough patch in teen years. They make friends with kids who seem emotionally vulnerable and typically respond to any complaints in a sympathetic, “understanding” sort of way. McGruff Safeguard is here to help stop Internet predators by allowing parents to download software in order to monitor chats, emails, and social media networking activity that your child is involved with, such as Facebook or Myspace. It gives our experts the opportunity to monitor the conversations and look for such content that may be alarming and report it to the parents. Here are some warning signs that we’ve come across that parents can look for if they suspect suspicious activity along with using McGruff Safeguard: Predator Warning Signs - Child spends a lot of time online
- You find porn on the computer
- Receive phone calls, mail, or gifts from people you don’t know
- Withdrawal from normal activity
- Switches tabs quickly if you enter a room (this can be done by pressing Alt + Tab)
- Uses other accounts for e-mail or Instant Messaging
McGruff Safeguard monitors for a variety of things outside of predators as well, such as depression, drug abuse, lying, sneaking around, acronyms, sexual abuse, suicide, etc. Our software enables us to detect that is going on with your loved ones to get you the information you need to facilitate conversation. It’s a fact that the Internet is a part of our everyday lives and the lives of our kids. By choosing McGruff Safeguard, you’re choosing to help protect your children. Labels: children safety, Internet predators, McGruff Safeguard, warning signs
posted by Lindsay Manfredi at 9:02 AM Link to this Article
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True Stories: "They started saying things to her that were sexual and degrading..."
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
One of the themes that comes up so often in the discussion of online parenting, protection, and especially monitoring is the unpalatable idea of "snooping" or spying. McGruff SafeGuard is a tool that gives parents insights into their child's activity online, but not for the mere sake of "gotcha's" or a covert sting operation. As one parent writes, "I do not feel like I am invading her privacy because there are so many issues that come up and need to be discussed in today's society."
This parent, like many parents, was not questioning her daughter's integrity. She did not want to invade privacy. This parent wanted to be a good parent--protecting her child from the dangers which might go otherwise unnoticed in the secret realms of social media.
"The service is great! I had a couple incidences with my 14 year old daughter. There were boys at her school that she was friends with and they started to say things to her that were sexual and degrading. I was glad I had the opportunity to view the comments to let my daughter know that what they were saying was disrespectful and that "no boy or man" has a right to talk to any girl the way they did."
When your young teen daughter begins to get unwanted attention from men, there are lots of emotions that can come up. Many times, the child does not feel empowered to tell an authority, as the evil of "tattling" is so ingrained in our early childhood minds. Or, more often, the embarrassment of it all prevents an emotionally fragile teen from talking.
With McGruff SafeGuard, however, this parent was able to see the perverted advances of her classmates and reaffirm her daughter's self-esteem. "No boy or man has a right to talk to any girl the way they did," the mother explained. The mother continued:
"I do not feel like I am invading her privacy because there are so many issues that come up and need to be discussed in today's society. I did, however, tell my daughter that I have the service and that it alerts me to sexual content via email. The service is the most important thing a parent should have if they allow their child freedom on the internet."
This mother chose to let her daughter know she was watching--that if anything came up that might endanger the young girl, that Mommy would be there to protect her. After all, isn't that what our children should know about us as parents? Not that we will be there to bust them, but that we are there to protect them.Labels: children safety, cyberbulling, internet safety, McGruff Safeguard, monitoring, online parenting, teenagers, True Stories
posted by Nick Carter at 6:12 AM Link to this Article
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Protecting your Child's Privacy Online
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
When my brother and I were younger, our parents belonged to a small social club in the tiny one-horse town where we grew up. Every so often, all the families would meet for dinner at the Lions Club lodge in town. At one such meeting, my brother, all of 3 years old at the time, was being particularly restless in his seat. One parent teased, "What's the matter, you got ants in your pants?" A few people chuckled and conversation went on... until a few moments later when mom turned around to find my brother, pants to his ankles, examining carefully to find these ants that must be there somewhere.
That story was funny from the moment it happened (and as you can imagine, my brother would prefer it be forgotten today). At three years old, children have little regard for their privacy and even less grasp on the far-reaching impact this little event would have for the decades to come. It seems nobody is capable of forgetting that story even today.
What we need to remember in the Internet age is that teens aren't altogether more astute as to the far-reaching impact of their actions. They may not even have an altogether higher sense of privacy than my brother did at three. But, what should be most concerning is this: the social network of those who may be on-lookers is infinitely larger than the quaint pot-luck dinner in our tiny town lodge.
My brother would never have dreamed that at the age of 31, old ladies around town would still remember that cute little boy who took a joke too literally. Does your teenager know how far-reaching the Internet community can be, and how permanent a mark can be made? Emotions posted on a Facebook wall, a careless remark in a Twitter feed, or even a indiscreet photo displayed on a MySpace page... all of these have the instant capability reach millions of viewers and to follow a teen into adulthood with consequences no child could foresee.
Mom laughed out loud (or LOL, if you will) as she redressed her totally oblivious son. No harm done and a great story to tell at family dinners. Are you there, at the social gatherings of today's Internet community? McGruff SafeGuard allows parents to "be there" to watch, see what their kids are up to, and keep them from dangers that they may never even know are ahead.Labels: children safety, Facebook, internet safety, McGruff Safeguard, monitoring, online parenting, photos, privacy, sexting, teenagers
posted by Nick Carter at 5:49 AM Link to this Article
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Child Pornography
Friday, August 28, 2009
I know we usually talk about online predators, monitoring our kids online, and using McGruff Safeguard to help in bridge a gap when communicating…after all, teenagers CAN be from a different planet at times. For this blog, I wanted to dive into another subject which is a cause for concern. There could be a slippery slope when it comes to predators acting out. Here is an article from 2006 where a hearing wanted to establish the links between child pornography and child sex abuse.
The reason I wanted to bring this up is because this just came in from our friends in Florida, Protect Our Youth From Online Predators: Attorney General CyberSafety .
Marion County Man Arrested for Possession of Child PornographyTALLAHASSEE,
FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Marion County man has been taken into custody on charges of child pornography possession. Rodney
Tundidor was arrested by law enforcement officers with the Attorney General’s
CyberCrime Unit, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Citrus County
Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and
the Ocala Police Department.
Members of the Attorney General’s Tampa CyberCrime Task Force located
numerous videos and images of child pornography online during a routine
investigation and traced the images back to Tundidor’s computer. A search
warrant was executed at his Dunnellon residence and two computers, an external
hard drive, and numerous CDs were seized, which will undergo additional forensic
analysis to locate any additional images of child pornography.
An initial review at Tundidor’s residence confirmed the videos and images
located by investigators were on his computer, several of which were part of an
identified series of child pornography and others of children appearing no more
than six years old. Tundidor admitted to downloading and possessing the images
and videos. He was taken to the Marion County Jail and will be charged with 14
counts of possession of child pornography, which will be enhanced to
second-degree felony charges under the CyberCrimes Against Children Act, and two
counts of promotion of child pornography, also a second-degree felony.
This kind of thing happens daily. We are fighting it, states are fighting it, people all over the world are fighting it. Let’s all work together in taking these predators down. The first step is awareness.Labels: Attorney General Cybersafe, child pornography, children safety, Florida
posted by Lindsay Manfredi at 12:39 PM Link to this Article
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Illinois Law Bans Sex Offenders from Social Media
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Last week, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a bill that bans registered sex offenders in Illinois from using what this bill calls a "Social networking website." The definition put forth in the Illinois law seeks to define social networking sites primarily by the ability to host a profile of oneself combined with the electronic messaging--chat, email, writing on "walls," etc.--that accompanies it. But, surprisingly, the bill has been met with a mix of applaud and criticism.
For starters, aside from the very "legalese" attempt at defining social media, the bill does have some potential weaknesses. Critics fear that the bill is too narrow-focused and may lead to a false sense of safety for children online. Others simply wonder how one state's legislation will make any impact on such a broad-reaching medium like the Internet. For example, the bill does not account for predators in Gary, IN befriending Chicago youth. And, there are also those concerned that the alienation of one-time criminals could be unjust--creating a "virtual concentration camp" as Mike Doyle of Chicago Now puts it .
But, let's put this into perspective. The 19th Amendment didn't outlaw sexism in the workplace, spousal abuse, or other forms of gender discrimination. But it was a step in the right direction, no doubt! And, all of the above did follow in due time. I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that this simple bill, one of the first of its kind, will radically change the safety of children online... by itself. But, at the same time, I do applaud Quinn and the Illinois legislation for taking a first step.
To be sure, much revision is needed, and will undoubtedly come. But as other states begin to follow suit, and federal legislation such as the AWARE Act continue to gain the attention of lawmakers, I believe we'll someday look back to this era in history and see landmark legislation. We're taking small steps today to protect our children for generations to come in the ever-increasing internet community. As society changes, so must legislation. The internet has forever changed the society we live in. There is an urgent need, so I will continue to support the legislators who--though maybe behind the eight ball--do have the safety of our nation's children at heart.Labels: AWARE Act, children safety, internet safety, Legislation, predators, Sex Offenders
posted by Nick Carter at 6:24 AM Link to this Article
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Recognizing Taney County's Battle Against Online Predators
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
I know the past couple of weeks, we have been discussing ways to monitor and protect our children’s online activities. There may be some parents out there freaked out about their kids being online. It can be easy to do. However, it’s important to keep in mind, that even though the internet can be used to lure the innocent unsuspecting, it is also being used to lure the predator.
This is exactly what the Taney County Sheriff’s Department in Missouri, did last week.
Michael Sean Pruiett, 37, of Ava, was charged in an Internet crime sting, after allegedly exposing himself on a webcam in the belief that the person on the other end was a young girl. This man was found in an internet chat room.
"Welch's sole purpose is to chat everyday with possible predators, in web
chat rooms, finding the best ways to act like a teen or child.She must be very
careful not to entice them. Laws require that the predator must be the
one to initiate inappropriate conduct.
Welch says as soon as she logs on she is approached by so many people she
has to start ignoring them. And many, she says, are from the Ozarks.
Russell says having a deputy dedicated to this type of crime is vital to public
safety."
These are the type of people that sooner or later are very apt to progress
on and go into rapes and other acts with children," Russell says.
Russell says parents may be surprised to see what is going on with children
online, and there are people living in southwest Missouri who expose themselves
to kids and try to lure them into face to face meetings."
I want to look at this twofold. Even though the internet is often used for bad, it is also being used to catch the bad. And it’s also great to know that there are folks out there dedicated to protecting our children from someplace other than our own home. If you are a law enforcement officer and are with us in our effort to keep children safe online, please join our Facebook group, Law Enforcement For Protecting Children Online.
Labels: chat room, children safety, Facebook group, Internet predators, internet safety, Taney County Sheriff's Department
posted by Lindsay Manfredi at 5:20 PM Link to this Article
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