I thought since a lot of us were very into the MySpace/predator thread that I should post this. It's from an article in my local paper...I'll include the link at the bottom of this post...

Location doesn't matter to predators
By HEATHER LESKANIC

Clarion Area junior high students get lesson in cyberspace protection.

CLARION - Small town or big city - the location isn't going to matter to an online predator stalking school-age students.

"I want you to be more aware and safer," PASSAGES Inc. prevention educator Malissa Martino told a group of eighth-grade students at Clarion Area High School. PASSAGES is a non-profit sexual violence agency in Clarion, Clearfield, and Jefferson counties that offers free and confidential counseling services and legal and medical advocacy. Prevention and educational programs are provided to area schools and throughout the communities.

Martino's program, "Chatting with Danger," appeared to hit home for many of the students who use the Internet every day.

Personal information that a student may post in cyberspace "can lead an online predator right to your doorstep," Martino said.

Some of the students said they have already had bad experiences with someone they chatted with online.

One girl said she had to cancel her MySpace account because of a situation.

Students described spending between one and four hours a day on the computer.

And that use is likely to increase over the summer as teen-agers have more free time.

The students said they use the Internet mainly to stay in touch with their friends and meet new people.

And half said they have chatted in cyberspace with people they don't know.

"You're not thinking anything bad is going to happen to you," Martino said. "You feel safe because you're at home."

Knowing the risks

Martino said students ages 13 to 15 are most at risk of being stalked by an online predator.

She also spoke with students in seventh-grade classes.

It is important to remember that people are not always who they seem to be online, she said.

Google is a favorite for predators, she said.

"I was on some of your MySpace profiles," said Martino.

She said she had created her own profile using a photo of a 17-year-old girl.

"I made that me," she said. "Pictures are not a good judge of who you are talking to. Who else is out there doing that?"

"Can you ever be 100 percent sure of the person you're talking to?" she asked. "No."

Martino said many of the students had personal information listed on their profiles.

A phone number is just like giving out a home address, she said, because it can be a tracking tool.

Posting pictures "make it that much easier for them to find victims," Martino said.

"Is it worth putting yourself and everyone you know at risk?" she said. "You are not only putting information out about yourself, but everyone in your house."

Martino advises students to keep their personal information private and to remove the photos.

She also asked them to set their profiles to private and not to talk to strangers online.

High school principal Todd MacBeth said more and more parents are asking him what they need to know to keep their children safe online.

He said the school is planning to offer a similar Internet safety program for parents this fall.

"This is information they may need," he said.

Many people think of computers as the only way to get online, but it's possible to reach into cyberspace from other devices including cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, and even video-game consoles.

General risks when communicating in cyberspace are situations and behaviors that make you feel uncomfortable; putting yourself in physical danger; giving up privacy or putting yourself or your family in financial risk; harassment and bullying; and hurting others and getting into trouble.

Not everything that can go wrong in cyberspace necessarily puts an individual in physical danger.

There are chatrooms, newsgroups, web sites, and other places online containing material that could make you feel uncomfortable, according to Teen Safety on the Information Highway.

The document is produced by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the MASTER Teacher.

"Teens have been bullied, harassed, or 'hit on' by others while in chatrooms, instant messaging sessions, or on their cellular telephones," it says. "Sometimes the people responsible for this inappropriate behavior are fellow teens or young adults, but that doesn't make it OK. At other times, it can be older adults posing as teen-agers. Either way, no one should have to put up with rudeness or unwanted sexual banter."

Growing concerns

Martino said the issue is all over the news "because it's happening more and more and more."

She discussed an investigative program produced by Dateline NBC where more than 100 men showed up in a rural Ohio town after communicating online with someone posing as a 14-year-old girl.

"Some drove two to three hours to get there," Martino said.

And, she said, a Texas girl was approached by a 49-year-old man while she was playing on her softball team because she'd told him her jersey number while chatting online.

"That's how easy it is for someone to find you," Martino said."Fortunately nothing happened to her."

Closer to home, she said, a girl in the DuBois area was assaulted last year as a result of Internet communications.

MacBeth said the parent program will also encourage discussions about Internet use with children.

Experts say it's important that students and their parents are on the same page when it comes to online activities - an agreement based on mutual trust and understanding.

It's a learning experience for everyone, said teacher Dave Constantino.

"We didn't have this when we were young," he said.

(oh I forgot to say this is a Northwestern, PA newspaper for those of you interested)

http://www.thederrick.com/stories/05312006-3006.shtml