 | Do not give out personal information about
yourself, your family, friends or school when you have not actually met the
person or know and trust the website and know that it is secure (look for
the lock in the lower right corner). This is stuff like personal information
that can be used by online predators to distinguish you from another person
and possibly find you in real life. This
includes your name, address, phone number, school, school mascot, school
colors, coach’s name, grade your in, teacher’s name, principal’s name,
friend’s names, and family’s names.
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| Get to know your "online
friends" just as you get to know all of your other friends. Be sure
that you are dealing with someone that you and your parents know and trust
before giving out any personal information about yourself via Instant
message, E-mail, an Internet bulletin board, or on a website.
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| Never send out your picture without your
parents' permission.
|
| Do not agree to meet someone who you have
met online but you don't know in real life.
|
| Be careful when someone offers you
something for nothing, such as gifts or money. Remember, any offer “That is too good to be true”,
probably is.
|
| Don't ever accept a gift or an offer that
involves having someone visit your house.
|
| Always tell your parents or guardian if
you see something online that you know is wrong or that makes you feel
uncomfortable.
|
| Do not open email messages from people you
do know and especially when they contain weird or unknown attachments.
Delete them.
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| Don't respond to messages that make you
feel uncomfortable or uneasy.
|
| Try not to panic if you see an
inappropriate website. Simply exit the window (click X in the top corner),
Control-Alt-Delete, or turn off the computer if the website does not allow
you to leave the inappropriate material.
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| Only use credit cards or bank prepaid
cards online with your parent’s permission and with a website that shows a
locked padlock in the lower right corner of your web browser.
|
| If you feel uncomfortable about contact
with a person, email or website talk to your parents or call the police.
If possible try to save the email, IM chat, or images or at least try
to print them out.
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| If you feel uncomfortable about any
contact or are unsure about any contacts, you can call Detective Edwin Moore
of the Livingston County Sheriff Department at 517-546-2440 extension #239
and discuss it with him. If he
is not in you may leave a message with your name and phone number and the
best time that he can call you back when you will be at that number.
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