KNOWING THE DANGERS OF THE INTERNET

Knowing the dangers of the Internet
Just as in virtually all other aspects of life, there are persons who will use the Internet as a means to pursue criminal enterprise, some of which may be personally hazardous to other users. Our purpose in presenting this information is to make users aware of the possibility of criminal application and to foster the same type of healthy caution which we encourage all citizens to observe in their daily lives.

The Internet is a venue through which people otherwise extraordinarily distant and diverse may communicate with convenience. "Meeting" people on the Internet as correspondents is very easy; discerning any real information about these new acquaintances is more difficult.

Whether you are meeting people through HTML/VRML links, MOO/MUSH/MUD sites, commercial services, commercial or free chat lines, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels, Instant Messengers, online dating services, newsgroups, or in other ways, you should be aware of the possible dangers of interaction when it turns in a personal direction.

While danger from such links may not be readily apparent, consider that the persons with whom you are communicating:

1. May not be anything like they describe themselves, and may not even be the gender they claim.

2. May not be providing their real name or personal information, and may be using someone else's account or even a "hacked" account.

3. May not be located where they say; the individual whom you believe to be on the other side of the country or overseas may be two blocks away.

Or may be in Prison! CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON INMATES WHO TROLL FOR VICTIMS ONLINE

Depending upon how you connect, your communication with a perfectly legitimate person may be seen or intercepted by a third party with much different motives.

Practice safe net; if you'd use or require your partner to use protection during sex, is it not similarly prudent to insist that someone you've met on the net provide a dependable means for reference-checking before you consider meeting in person?

Predators on the net thrive on the anonymity of the interface. Find a way to positively identify your potential romantic partner before you allow a meeting. Where do they work? Can you call them at work? Where do they live and what is their telephone number?

ARE THEY TELLING YOU THE TRUTH??

Original Article Here