Evelyn here,
with a consumer advisory from the Office of the Attorney General, Bill McCollum on how get children safety during this holiday seasons.
--------
ATTORNEY GENERAL ENCOURAGES CYBERSAFETY OVER THE HOLIDAYS
~ As schools let out, many children will spend more time online ~
TALLAHASSEE, FL – As Florida schools let out for the holidays, Attorney
General Bill McCollum today issued an advisory encouraging parents to talk
to their children about cybersafety. During the holiday break, children
have more leisure time and often spend more time on the internet. The
Attorney General emphasized the importance of taking a proactive approach
to teaching children safe internet use and encouraged parents to become
familiar with the websites their children visit and programs they use.
“Parents can make cybersafety a priority in their homes by talking to
their children about internet safety and how to avoid attacks from
internet child predators,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Education is
one of the best tools children have to protect themselves while using the
internet.”
Last Christmas Eve, the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit arrested a
Seminole County man who traveled to meet a young girl for a sexual
encounter. The man had met the teenager in a chatroom and sexually
solicited her, but her parents alerted the CyberCrime Unit and the man was
subsequently taken into custody. That man is now serving a 63-month prison
sentence.
The Attorney General offered the following list of internet safety tips
for parents to share with their children:
- Children should be discouraged from chatting online with someone they
do not know in real life;
- Never give out or post personal information like last names,
addresses and dates of birth;
- Never post photos or use screen names which may reveal personal
information such as age or school name, or photos that may be considered
provocative or seductive;
- Children should never make plans to meet someone who they have only
met online without a parent present; and
- Always report any inappropriate chatting or sexual solicitations
received online.
Additional tips on safe internet surfing for parents, students and
educators are on the Attorney General’s cybersafety website at
http://www.safeflorida.net/safesurf.
The Attorney General also encouraged Florida’s middle and high school
principals to set aside time during the spring semester to schedule
cybersafety presentations for their students. The Attorney General’s
50-minute interactive CyberSafety Presentation has reached over 85,000
students this school year with real-life stories and examples about safe
internet use and the tactics commonly used by internet child predators.
Principals can go to http://www.safeflorida.net/safeschools to schedule
cybersafety presentations with a volunteer from the Attorney General’s
Office or one of several hundred school resource officers specially
trained in cybersafety.
-------
Evelyn out.
