Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Sweet Home people, and youths in particular, have plenty of information out on the Internet that predators can use to target them.
That was the gist of a presentation Sweet Home Police Department Det. Cyndi Pichardo gave a presentation on April 18 about Internet crime. The class drew about a half dozen members of the public.
“Basically, the reason for the class, (is that) there has been an incredible emphasis on Internet availability,” Pichardo said. The number of crimes over the Internet is rising.
The department has received reports recently about two Web sites, including myspace.com.
Pichardo got onto myspace.com and discovered that 360 Sweet Home youths between 16 and 18 have profiles on the site.
“As I was looking at random profiles, I became increasingly concerned about the information I was seeing posted on the Internet,” she said. These profiles list full names, date of birth, school name, home town, “and any combination of that information, even it it’s two pieces, a predator or identity thief can find them.”
If a predator has a name and school name, and he knows what a student looks like, he can park in front of the school and pick out his victim, Pichardo said.
Similar Web sites include spaces.msn.com, hotornot.com, tellmeyourstory.com and whatsyourstory.msn.com.
On myspace.com, users must be 14 to make a profile, but that’s held private until they’re 16, Pichardo said. Only friends can access those profiles, but getting added as a friend is easy.
“These sites are not all negative,” she said. “These sites were designed to give people of a certain age group a place to go to meet people of their own age.”
The problem is, children are not equipped to deal with on-line dangers, she said. Parents who allow their children to use the Internet and computers should know as much about them as their children and keep an eye on their children.
“The thing that kids don’t understand, (is that) the things that are posted on the Internet can never be completely picked up,” Pichardo said. The information posted will probably always remain in the virtual world.
“Kids will often post pictures of themselves that are provocative or misleading because they have a sense of anonymity,” she said. They often act out of character because they are hidden behind a computer.
Thusly, they are often exposed to inappropriate popups or even bullying, she said, and now, “kids have more access to the Internet technology than ever before.”
Even cell phones can connect to the Internet, Pichardo said.
Parents can tap a variety of software to filter sites and control computer use, she said. Software can also record every site visited and every keystroke. That information can be sent automatically to parents’ e-mail addresses. Even if the user deletes the history, parents can still see what they were up to.
“The trend (of Internet stalking) is growing,” she said. “We haven’t seen a large number of stalking cases that have been reported.”
But, only about 25 percent of children stalked by an Internet sexual predator report have told their parents about it, Pichardo said. Less than 10 percent of those are reported to law enforcement.
“I’m not saying never use the Internet,” she said. “You have to use it safely, and – let’s face it – it’s an important part of everyday technology. I’m an advocate of kids knowing how to use computers and navigate the Internet.”
Pichardo recommends that computer users never post personal pictures, use no identifying information and only talk to and add buddies from among people they already know.
Don’t give out the name of your home town or use e-mail addresses with identifying features, such as your name, she said.
Don’t forget that “people are not always who they say they are,” she said. “We tell our kids from the time they can understand, don’t talk to strangers. You don’t talk to strangers at a park. You don’t do it on the Internet.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that 67 percent of parents say they have rules about Internet use, Pichardo said. Only 37 percent of children reported being subjected to rules, showing a breakdown in communication between some parents and some children.
“The whole point was just to create some awareness, give parents tips on safeguarding their kids’ identities,” she said. Talking to friends is and people they know is fine, but they should never talk to people they don’t know.
The Internet is “a target-rich environment” for predators, Pichardo said. Predators can get into chat rooms and exchange notes with each other or talk to children and potential victims.
“Finding victims off-line is time-consuming, with a high probability you’ll be found out,” she said. The Internet allows them to use search engines, buddy lists and Web sites to find potential victims; and chances of detecting predators is much less likely.
For more information about software, Web sites and Internet crime, contact Pichardo at 367-5181.