7/02/2018

How To Stop Catfishing Online And Protect Your Kids From Internet 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.

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.

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.

Most people teach their kids to be careful of strangers who try to approach them on the street. They need to teach them the same thing about strangers they meet on the internet. It's okay to be a nosy parent. If you see a friend you do not know on your child's social media page, ask who the person is and how your child knows him.

There are signs that should make you suspicious about someone who is interacting with your child online. Some catfish set up elaborate profiles, but don't have any other presence on the internet. Their profiles are often fairly new. A catfish might have a lot of friends, but none of them seem to who the person actually is.

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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