mardi 3 juillet 2018

How To Stop Catfishing Online And Keep Your Children Safe From Internet Predators

By Sarah Smith


The internet has opened the world to those who have access to electronic devices. As wonderful as this is, technology has also created opportunities for predators to take advantage of those who are most vulnerable. As a parent, it's your job to protect your children. If you are going to allow them access to the internet you have to know how to stop catfishing online in your own home.

If your kids are on the internet, and you don't know what an online catfish is, you are making your kids vulnerable to predators. A catfish is someone who creates a false identity with a made up profile and fake photos. Some target unsuspecting kids for sexual purposes. Other times their goal is to manipulate or bully a specific child. Parents can stop this behavior by being diligent.

Permission to use the internet should come with online responsibility lessons. Everybody loves to share photos on social media, but this is one way catfish attach themselves to kids. They will flatter them and try to create a relationship. You have to create privacy settings and make sure your kids are tagged when a friend or relative posts a picture that includes them.

You will have to teach your kids to avoid strangers who want to have private conversations with them. Most kids are pretty trusting. Predators know how to manipulate that. You need to make sure your child is only having conversations in groups. Predators don't like witnesses.

In the same way you warn kids against talking to strangers they meet on the street, you have to warn them against internet predators. You have a right to nose around in your kid's online business. You can ask who they are talking to. If you do not recognize a name or photo, you should ask who the individual is without panicking.

There are signs that should make you suspicious about someone who is interacting with your child online. Some catfish set up elaborate profiles, but don't have any other presence on the internet. Their profiles are often fairly new. A catfish might have a lot of friends, but none of them seem to who the person actually is.

Searching the catfish's image is one way to catch him. It's easy to copy an image of the individual and download it into a search engine. If the image is fake you'll probably find it popping up on numerous websites and social media pages. It might even turn out to be a celebrity. Once you have determined the individual is a catfish, he should be blocked immediately.

Modern technology is wonderful. It opens a lot of doors for people of all ages. Protecting your kids from the negative elements that exist online is paramount though. Catfish can strike anywhere. You have to remain vigilant and know who your child is talking to.




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