Protecting your kids from cyber crimes

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By Navideh Forghani nforghani@nbcaugusta.com

Augusta, Ga.- The World Wide Web is a tool used more and more by children. Yet, it's also a danger for kids. Experts say one out of seven children receive unwanted sexual solicitation. Parents learned how to prevent their child from becoming a victim at the Back to School Safety forum Wednesday night.

The main message was vigilance. Experts say parents need to knowing what their kids were doing and who they are interacting with on the internet.

The forum was sponsored by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia and Crime Stoppers.

Their targets are young and naïve and in most cases, they have one goal in mind: harming your children.

Crime Stoppers and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia taught parents ways to protect children from cyber crimes.

“These cyber predators don't care. It's just getting inside, finding out the info over a period of time, then arrange what turns into a tragic meeting with young adults,” said Demery Bishop from Crime Stoppers.

It’s something Janet Porches fears.

“I have two kids. It's really difficult. They want to be in this and that. You're pulled this way and that. It's easy to get off track,” Porches said.

But she never forgets to watch what her children are doing when they are surfing the internet.

"She can't be on the computer past 9:00 pm. I walk by; look at what she's doing, and ask her what she's doing," said Porches.

Studies show 70 percent of kids who use the internet are exposed to some sort of child pornography. Fifty percent admitted to speaking with strangers when they're online.

With about 80 percent of children having their own personal email accounts and profiles, experts say this type of access is a recipe for disaster, but there is a way you can tell if your child may be victim.

"If you walk into the room and the child clears the screen or turns off the computer, ask, 'why are you nervous when I walk into the room?' Also be aware of the types of cyber language, find out what it means," said Bishop.

Experts hope a proactive approach will help save a child from becoming a victim.

If your kids are browsing the internet, try to find kid-safe search engines.

If you let your child have a profile like MySpace or Facebook, don't let them post their real names or any type of personal information.

Also, don't let anyone they don't know view their profile.

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The following comments do not necessarily represent the views of NBC Augusta 26 | news, weather, sports, community, entertainment, shopping for Augusta, Georgia. Users have agreed to these terms and in doing so accept full responsibility for their comments. Moderation is limited.

Thursday, Sep 11 at 9:17 AM Nash wrote ...

My son was the victim of an imposter profile that caused harrassement at school. I know the effects it can have. There is a social and educational networking site for kids ages 5-18. This site requires the child's school to verify their identification before they can become a member. My son can play games, IM, chat, email, build his own webpage.No predators or cyberbullies on this site. Kids go to iland5.com and parents safewave.org They're having webinar Sept 25 with Debbie Johnston as speaker

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