Tuesday, June 26, 2018

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

By Sarah Smith


Kids today never knew a world without the internet. They communicate by texting and on social media. As adept as even small children are with technology, people who use the internet for illegal purposes are getting even more sophisticated. It is the job of parents to protect their children. When kids are allowed access to social media, it's the parents' responsibility to learn how to stop catfishing online in their own homes.

Most kids know more than their parents when in comes to internet terminology. If you don't know what an online catfish is, you need to learn quickly. A catfish is a person who makes up a fake identity. These people set up fake profiles and pictures. They may target children for sexual purposes or to manipulate them in some way. There are ways you can minimize the risks to your kids.

Kids who are old enough to have internet access are old enough to learn internet responsibility. Kids love sharing pictures with friends, but catfish could be looking at them too. Predators will flatter children to get close to them. There are privacy settings on social media sites that will only allow certain people to view pictures. If someone else is going to post pictures of your child, they need to tag him or her so you all know it was done.

Predators love to get kids alone. You need to stress the importance of avoiding private conversations with people the kids do not know. Staying in a group will help keep your child safe and out of the clutches of a predator who doesn't want witnesses to record his actions.

Just like you teach children to be wary of strangers in real life, you need to teach them to do the same on social media. As a parent it is your obligation to be nosy. You have a right to know who your kids are talking to on social media. If you see someone unfamiliar to you, you should ask your child who it is and how he knows them. You don't want to be accusatory, just interested and concerned.

You need to know the signs that can indicate a catfish is interacting with your child. Some of these predators set up elaborate profiles on social communities, but do not leave a trace anywhere else online. Their profiles may be new. Catfish might friend a lot of people and not know any of them. Kids should be warned not to friend people they've never heard of.

One easy way to uncover a catfish is to take his profile picture and download the image into a search engine. If the picture is fake, the image will probably pop up on several sites. Catfish even use images of famous people. If you find out your child is being catfished, you need to block the person immediately.

Social media is great, but you've got to protect your children from those who want to take advantage of them. A catfish can be tricky to catch. They try to stay one step ahead of everybody else. As a parent you have a responsibility to keep up with who your child is communicating with the internet.




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