1 Netsmartz Lakeway Police Department

2 Cyber Crimes Unit

3  Eighteen Investigators  Three Prosecutors  On-line Investigative Lab  In-house Computer Forensics  Building a Network of Law Enforcement contacts. Cyber Crimes Unit

4 Online Predators Online Predators  Online Predators befriend children through contacting them in Chatrooms, exchanging private messages, and finding out about the child's relationship with his or her parents and friends.  The Online Predator determines the child's likes and dislikes and uses this information to lure the child.  The Online Predator then breaks down the child's inhibitions, often by showing him or her photographs of other children engaged in sexual activity, showering the child with love and affection, and convincing the child that he or she is not loved at home.  The Online Predator then entices the child into having sex by arranging for an encounter.  If they do not live near each other, the pedophile will often send money or tickets to the child for transportation. Online Solicitation of a Minor: Texas Penal Code §  (NCMEC 2000)

5 Objectives  RISKS ONLINE  CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ONLINE VICTIM  CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ONLINE PREDATOR  ONLINE SAFETY TIPS  WHAT YOU CAN DO

RISKS ONLINE

7 RISKS FOR KIDS AND TEENS ONLINE RISKS FOR KIDS AND TEENS ONLINE  Exposure to Inappropriate Material  Sexual Solicitation  Harassment and Bullying  Theft of Personal Information

More than 30 million children in the United States use the Internet 2001 study so the numbers are much higher (NCMEC)

9 NCMEC Survey – Youth on the Internet (Ages 10 – 17)  1 in 33 received an aggressive sexual solicitation such as arranging for a meeting, called on telephone, sent them letters, etc.  1 in 4 received unwanted exposure to pictures of nude people having sex in the last year.  1in 17 was threatened or harassed.  Approximately 1 in 5 received a sexual solicitation or approach.  NCMEC (2000)

10 Where did this Sexual Solicitation take place?  Computer Locations –70% at home –22% at someone else’s home –4% at school –3% at library  Internet –65% in chatrooms –24% in Instant Message

11 Current Trends  Blog –A blog (short for Web Log) is a Website of your own where you enter information ordered by date. –An online diary or online journal that is shared with others online.

12 Blogging Stats  Myspace.com membership since January 2004 is at 47.3 million.  MySpace.com is ranked No. 15 on the entire U.S. internet in terms of page hits in October.  College students make up most of the 9.5 million members on Facebook.com  Xanga’s membership has expanded to 21 million. –BusinessWeek online, Jessie Hempel and Paula Lehman 12/2005.

13 Dangers of Blogging  If your real identity is tied to the blog anyone can find you.  Children and teens tend to put personal information on blogs, such as pictures, name, date of birth and location.  If personal information is not used, there can be slips which will lead to personal information.  Blogs can be password protected or they can be public. (Double edge sword)

14 Dangers of Blogging  Once something is posted it is there, there is no taking it back.  Many can be misunderstood by a certain comment.  This is where bullying, harassment and a misunderstanding can lead to violence.  We can not over look threats made online. Zitz, Marcy (2005) Family Internet: About Kid’s Blogs and Online Journals and Online Diaries

15 Recent Headlines : October 07, 2005 Missing Virginia Student Taylor Behl’s Body Identified… Suspect held on 16 Counts Child Pornography Box of Bones and Machete recovered from suspect’s home

16 Blog Sites  Select an Age Appropriate Blog Site- make sure other people your age are using this site.  Read the Privacy Statement-read to make to see what will happen to information you post.  Look for Support-#’s and s in case problems arise.  Cost?-any cost involved with creating and maintaining your blog

17 Member of a Blog  Hide your account details  Blog Topic  Password Protect your Blog   Use of Avatars and Photos  Hide your Profile from public view  Hide your blog from search engines-most blogs describe how to do this.

18 Blog Sites  Facebook  Xanga  Myspace  Espinthebottle  Tagged  Blogspot

19 Current Trends  Webcams: –“Hacker Uses Webcam To Spy On Family” Click2Houston.com (2004). 15 yr old female surfing Internet Typing message to girlfriend and her message turns sexually explicit Hacker opened her disc drive Controlling not only computer but webcam The hacker even listened to conversations thru the microphone attached to the webcam

20 Current Trends  The worms and Trojan horse programs are the viruses used  Available to anyone on the Internet  Disguised as popular movies, songs or videos  Student fined for spying on women with webcam.(2005) Malaga, Spain

21 Current Trends  Camera Phones –Still pictures –Video –  Video Games – Xbox 360 –Webcam –Hardrive – PSP –IR device –Wireless Internet – Computer Games –Chat rooms

ONLINE SAFETY TIPS

23 INTERNET SAFETY TIPS 1. Establish rules for Internet use  What sites can your child visit  Who can they talk to?  How long will they be online  Where can they use a computer? KEEP HOUSE RULES POSTED NEAR THE COMPUTER!

24 INTERNET SAFETY TIPS 2. Keep the computer in a common room (not a child’s bedroom)

25 INTERNET SAFETY TIPS 3. Discuss the importance of telling you or a trusted adult if something ever makes your child or teen feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused while online.

26 INTERNET SAFETY TIPS 4. Communicate  Prepare yourself beforehand  Talk and be open with your kids and teens  Keep your cool. Be cool. Encourage them to confide in you.

27 INTERNET SAFETY TIPS 5. Be informed  Learn everything you can about the Internet  Ask your kids to show you places they go  Learn chatroom lingo by going to for a list of acronyms like POS=Parent Over Shoulder

28 “Chatroom Lingo”  (((((((((name)))))))) - Giving so-and-so person a hug  AKA - Also Known As  ASAP - As Soon As Possible  B4 - Before  bbl - Be Back Later  bfn - Bye For Now  brb - Be Right Back  *EG* - an evil grin  FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions  FYI - For Your Information  *G* - a grin  G2G - Got To Go  GB - Goodbye  *GBG* - a great big grin  *GBS* - a great big smile  GG - Good Game  gl - Good Luck  imho - In My Humble Opinion  imo - In My Opinion  imnsho - In My Not So Humble Opinion  kotc - Kiss On The Cheek  kotl - Kiss On The Lips  l8r - Later  lmao - Laughing My Ass/Arse Off  lol - Laugh Out Loud  msg - Message  MYOB - Mind Your Own Business  pls - Please  rofl - Rolling On the Floor Laughing  roflmao - Rolling On Floor, Laughing My Ass Off  *S* - a smile  ttyl - Talk To You Later  ttys - Talk To You Soon  ty - Thank You  w/ - With  *W* - a wink  wb - Welcome Back  *weg* - Wicked Evil Grin  wtf - What The F**k  yw - Your Welcome  9- Adult has entered room  99- Adult has left room

29 leetspeek Numbers are often used as letters. The term "leet" could be written as "1337," with "1" replacing the letter L, "3" posing as a backwards letter E, and "7" resembling the letter T. Others include "8" replacing the letter B, "9" used as a G, "0" (zero) in lieu of O, and so on. Non-alphabet characters can be used to replace the letters they resemble. For example, "5" or even "$" can replace the letter S. Applying this style, the word "leetspeek" can be written as "133t5p33k" or even "!337$p34k," with "4" replacing the letter A. Letters can be substituted for other letters that may sound alike. Using "Z" for a final letter S, and "X" for words ending in the letters C or K is common. For example, leetspeekers might refer to their computer "5x1llz" (skills). Rules of grammar are rarely obeyed. Some leetspeekers will capitalize every letter except for vowels (LiKe THiS) and otherwise reject conventional English style and grammar, or drop vowels from words (such as converting very to "vry"). Mistakes are often left uncorrected. Common typing misspellings (typos) such as "teh" instead of the are left uncorrected or sometimes adopted to replace the correct spelling. Non-alphanumeric characters may be combined to form letters. For example, using slashes to create "/\/\" can substitute for the letter M, and two pipes combined with a hyphen to form "|-|" is often used in place of the letter H. Thus, the word ham could be written as "|-|4/\/\."

30 INTERNET SAFETY TIPS 6. Consider safeguarding options  Check out blocking, filtering and rating applications  Learn about filtering and monitoring software and when to use them  Education is a key part of prevention.

31 Safety Tips  Pay attention to probabilities  No matter if high or low  Avoid high risk situations No opportunity No Abuse!

32 Resources  Presentation Information provided by NetSmartz and The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. (2002)

QUESTIONS? Chris Walling Lakeway Police Department (512)