Many Internet predators are just a mouse click away from your child.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace are wildly popular. And while they can be a lot of fun for your kids they can also be very dangerous especially for teens. Investigator Brian Jones handles Internet crimes for the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.

“We teach our kids to worry about these boogie men that sneak around in the middle of the night that nobody would go within 50 feet of. These are not those people. Those are the people who are blending in very well and obviously well enough to convince our children that they are perfectly safe,” said Jones.

He also said that many predators are very truthful about personal information such as their age. And tend to flatter their victims and turn them against their parents.

According to Jones parents should make sure they know their kids passwords and screen names.

Parents should also get an account on the sites their children use and keep up with their kids’ friend list.

Also it’s important for parents to keep the computer in a public area of the home like the den or living room and make sure to check every so often what sites their child is visiting.

Some parents may worry about getting too involved in their children's business, but investigators say you can't afford not to get involved.