Safety Tips for Kids

Safety Tips

Keep all of your personal information to yourself.
Information like your address, telephone number, or even where you go to school and what you do afterwards can lead to a dangerous situation down the road. It doesn't take much to give away your identity.

Never give out your picture or post it online.
Your image is everything; don't let someone destroy it. Anything you send could be altered and then given to other people. Always ask your parents or guardians before you give anyone on the Internet your name or address, your phone number, or any other personal details. This includes the name of your school, your photo or any personal information about your friends or family.

Don't give out information simply because it is requested.
Web sites sometimes ask you to give them your full name, date of birth, address, phone number, e-mail address, etc. when you might just want to read messages on a discussion forum. Give as little information as possible, then hit the "submit" button and see what information you really need to provide to get that account. Be especially careful of "profiles" and "directory listings" for instant messaging programs or Web sites such as free e-mail services, blogs, journals, etc. You don't want too much information to get into the wrong hands.

Always use a gender-neutral screen name and e-mail address.
It is important that your username not reveal any personal information such as your real name, age, sex, location, where you go to school, age, etc. Avoid anything cute, sexual, or overtly feminine. Child predators look for ways to make you think they know you or like the same things you like, so be careful. Some good examples of words to avoid are girl, kitty, sweet, cute, sexy, or hot.

Don't give out passwords to anyone other than your parents or guardians.
Your password can be used in a variety of ways that may hurt you. If you think that someone may know your password, change it. There is no reason for anyone to ever contact you to ask for your password.

Don't trust everyone you meet online.
Meeting people online is fun, but remember that the people you meet online may not be who they say they are. For instance, someone online could claim to be 12 and really be 50. If someone always seems to be changing stories or saying one thing that's different from something they've said before, be extremely careful. These are clues that something is wrong and that person could be a predator or harasser trying to trick you into trusting them.

Don't open e-mail attachments from people that you don't know or don't trust.
Even if you do know them, do not open it unless you were expecting it. Many viruses prey on other people's online address books to make a virus e-mail look like it came from them, then will infect your computer.

If you come across anything that makes you uncomfortable, tell your parents/guardians or an adult you trust.
This includes pictures or messages that are mean, or anything else that makes you feel uncomfortable. If someone writes something rude or something that makes you feel uncomfortable in chat or e-mail, leave the chat room and don't respond to the e-mail.

Block or ignore unwanted users.
If anyone bothers you in a chat room or using IM and won't go away, put them on block or ignore, even if it feels rude! Your comfort level is more important than their feelings.

Watch what you "say" online.
When you do participate online, be careful--only type what you would say to someone's face. If you wouldn't say it to a stranger standing next to you, don't say it online. This goes for photos as well. If you wouldn't want your photo being shown all over the world in public, think twice about sending it to someone.

Keep your primary e-mail address private.
Use your primary e-mail address ONLY for people you know and trust.

Always ask your parents before:

• Creating new accounts online – This includes e-mail accounts and social network accounts.
• Meeting an online buddy in person – If your parents or guardians agree to the meeting, be sure to meet in a public place and bring them with you, preferably during the day.
• Filling out any forms – It is important that your parents see what information you are providing and who you are providing the information to. Do not give out any personal information if it is requested or required.
• Accepting any offers – Many offers that seem too good to be true usually are.
• Posting any photos – You do not want pictures of you to get in the wrong hands.
• Giving out personal information, including:
  Your name, names of family members, your home address, your e-mail address or screen name, the name and location of your school, your home or mobile phone numbers, your social security number, credit card numbers, etc.

Help For Kids

Cyberbullying

If you are being cyberbullied, first ask the individual to stop by sending something like "Please leave me alone". If they continue to harass you, follow the tips below:

1. KEEP EVERYTHING! Don't delete e-mails, IMs, chat logs, etc. Place them in a separate folder on your hard drive or diskette/zip disk, CD, DVD etc and print out a hard copy. You can also take a screen shot of the IM or chat. To do this, hit the Ctrl and Print Screen (or Prt Sc) keys on your keyboard, then open a graphics or word processing program and go to Edit, Paste (or Ctrl + V keys), then save the document.
2. Let your parents, teacher or other adult you trust know about what is happening online. They will help you report the incident to the police.
3. Do not respond to anything the cyberbully sends, but do keep anything the cyberbully sends.
4. If the bullying is occurring via e-mail and you do not know who it is, capture the full e-mail header information. If you don't know how to do this, visit this site for help viewing e-mail headers.
5. If someone has created a Web site to harass you, complain to the server where the site is hosted (ask for help if you are unsure where the site is being hosted).

Strangers

If a stranger has contacted you online, follow the tips below:

1. KEEP EVERYTHING! Don't delete e-mails, IMs, chat logs, etc. Place them in a separate folder on your hard drive or diskette/zip disk, CD, DVD etc and print out a hard copy.
2. Never respond to IMs or e-mails that are suggestive, obscene, threatening, or make you feel uncomfortable. Tell your parents or other trusted adult about these messages. It's not your fault - remember that!
3. No matter how friendly a stranger may be online, don't trust them completely.
4. Don't let a stranger online know when you are having a problem at school or at home - they will use this to try to get you to trust them and tell them more.
5. Never, ever meet a stranger in person, no matter how close you feel you have gotten to them online. Someone claiming online to be a 15 year-old girl or guy may be a 40 year-old man. Meeting them face-to face may be dangerous - even if you're accompanied by friends or family.
6. Never "go private" and never accept a "private message" if you're in a chat room.

Don't forget to check out our links to other sites for Internet safety, games, homework help, videos, quizzes, and much more!