Monday, 2 July 2018

How To Stop Catfishing Online And Keep Your Children Safe From Dangerous 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.

A lot of children know more about internet terminology that their parents do. If you are not familiar with the meaning of catfishing, you need to get educated fast. Catfish are predators who create fake identities, profiles, and pictures in an effort to fool unsuspecting individuals. They might be targeting kids for sexual purposes or as a way to manipulate them. It's important that you do everything possible to minimize the risks to your children.

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 certain signs you should recognize as a potential catfish. Some of them will set up sophisticated profiles but when you search, not show up anywhere else on the internet. They might have new profiles with lots of friends. Catfish won't post details or have much interaction with their so called friends.

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.

Social media is a great way for kids and adults to connect with one another. It can also be a dangerous place for those who are too trusting. These are the people catfish target because they are the easiest ones to reel in.




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