How Predators Use Anonymity


Because online cybercriminals know very well how to hide their identities and intentions, you might never know who they really are. Using multiple personas, the ability to post anonymously and lurk (monitor a chat without declaring their presence), and other techniques, predators move around online with no clear identity. A 54-year-old man might tell your daughter he is a 16-year-old high school football star. A con man might pose as your banker trying to verify an electronic payment by asking you to enter the payment amount and your account number.

When you or your child develops a close relationship that exists purely online, consider that you actually have no idea who that other person is or what he or she wants from you. The person might be everything he says he is, or he might be someone entirely different. Often they are a blend of truth and deception. If your child forms many purely online relationships, and spends less time with kids his or her own age offline, consider it a warning.

It is at the moment of conferring trust, of deciding to take the next step in an online relationship, that you put yourself at risk. Children and adults need to recognize the potential risks involved when making the decision to provide more personal information or making a direct connection such as through e-mail, the telephone, and especially meeting in person. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) in the United Kingdom has said that one in twelve children meets with someone they first encountered online. Comparable research in the United States shows that 12 to 14 percent of teens admit to meeting with Internet friends. What makes this so concerning is that while most people you or your child might go to meet won't be predators, research indicates that more than 90 percent of kids who meet an online predator in person end up being abused (Wolak et al., 2004).

Think About It

You hear a great deal in the news about sexual predators finding victims online, and people often ask me if the number of sexual predators has exploded. In looking at available data, that doesn't seem to be the case. There is a relatively small segment of the population interested in sexually exploiting children. However, some evidence suggests that within this segment there is a growing number of individuals willing to act upon their interests online because of the perceived reduced risks of being caught (Lanning, 2001).


Once you move from the anonymity of a chat room, public social networking site, or discussion board where those you interact with know you only by a nickname, you are potentially entering an unsafe situation. If you post a profile that includes personally, or indirectly, identifiable information that is available publicly (to anyone besides your close friends or family), or if you provide contact information such as an e-mail or IM address or a phone number, you have created a situation that allows total strangers to begin using that information in any way they choose to, including breaking through your anonymity while maintaining their own.



Look Both Ways. Help Protect Your Family on the Internet
Look Both Ways: Help Protect Your Family on the Internet
ISBN: 0735623473
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 157
Authors: Linda Criddle

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