It is important to know the basic safety tips and rules apply for most online chat environments. Many people use different nicknames to identify themselves. They may appear to be friendly and kind, but they may not be what they seem. Some of them even have evil motives. Hence, it is useful to learn a few tips to help you guard against these predators and protect yourself.
Firstly, why would young children want to meet these strangers? These young children are very gullible and believe what the strangers say. The strangers may pose as a different identity, like a famous star, and use the star’s picture as his display picture. Hence, the young children thought they are chatting with a famous star and of course want to meet him or her in person.
It may be worse if the children meet with the strangers at a remote place, where there is no one. The children would then found out that the stranger was actually a poser. But by then it will be too late. The stranger will probably beat the child up, steal money from the child, or even worse, rape the child or murder the child.
- Do not spam or flood the chat room.
- Refrain from speaking vulgarities and swearing
- Do not receive or open unknown files or attachments from strangers, it may turn out to be a virus and harm your computer. Download it only if you really know and trust the stranger.
- Do not tell anyone your personal information. Etc address, hand phone number, your age and even your full name
- Stop conversing with a stranger by logging out or block him if you are feeling uncomfortable about the topic. Also do not respond directly to anything you find disturbing.
- Do not believe what a stranger says totally. It may be a scam.
- Never arrange to meet someone that you only know through chat room conversations. Without seeing a person we can never be sure they are what they say they are. This is why you should never arrange to meet someone you have chatted to on the chat room.
- Anything you type in a chat room can be seen by anyone who is using that same chat room so think carefully before you type.
- Remember your Internet etiquette and be nice. Don’t send mean messages to others that may hurt them or get involved in chat room arguments.
- Try to use a nickname, not your real name; the nickname should not attract the wrong type of attention.
- Keep a copy of your online conversations; this may be useful when you want to report something to the chat room moderator.
Follow these rules and chat in a safe way.
Case study
From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/726904.stm
Children are open to the dangers of the Internet
Parents are being warned of hidden dangers in Internet chat rooms after a teenage girl was duped into meeting a 47-year-old man.
The man had introduced himself as a 15-year-old when they first began swapping messages before admitting he was 18.
Eventually the 13-year-old girl, who has not been identified, agreed to meet him.
But her mother grew suspicious of the unknown teenage boy and went with her daughter to the meeting and was horrified to find the young man was in his 40s.
The mother said: "To take this to the worst possible conclusion, we may not still have our daughter now.
"As they were talking I went up to him and said I was her mother, that she was lovely and we love her, and that he must understand that. He said: `Yes'.
"I said: `You are not 17', and he answered `Yes I am', but then admitted he wasn't, and I took her away immediately."
She said her daughter had been looking forward to her first meeting with her chat room friend and was devastated that he turned out to have been a middle-aged man.
Conclusion
It was lucky of the girl that she did not get any kind of abuse because her mother was alert enough to follow her daughter.
Adults are using the net for sinister reasons and parents should be alert to the Internet's possible misuse.