Just one piece of personal information, like a mobile phone number, can be enough to allow an Internet predator to identify a child. Information about hobbies can also offer an opening for an online conversation, particularly if it is linked to apparently local knowledge, gleaned from other Internet sources like Google Earth.
Anne Ritchie, Chair of West Dunbartonshire Child Protection Committee, said: “Internet safety is something we must all be aware of and this campaign highlights the danger of disclosing personal information online. Parents understand the Internet plays a big part in children’s lives today but we must ensure, just as we would do in the real world, that our children are safe and are not putting themselves at risk.”
The 49 adverts will be broadcast at peak times, during the day and during the live final of Britain’s Got Talent. Last year the Britain’s Got Talent final was the most watched show in Scotland.
Cllr Jonathan McColl, convenor of Education said: “The message is twofold; children need to understand the risks of sharing even the most innocuous personal information, but they also need to remember that online, you can pretend to be anyone. There are steps that children can take to protect themselves, for example, making their Bebo or MySpace profiles private and only allowing people they know to access them, as well as not meeting people they don’t know without being part of a larger group. Hopefully, the use of a website to give advice to kids and young people will encourage them use this resource to keep themselves safe.”
Internet safety tips
Don’t arrange to meet someone in real life that you only know through the Internet
Never put your full address online
Don’t use your real name – use a nickname
Do put your real age on your webpage. If you lie about your age you may get adults contacting you
Don’t put your mobile phone number online. Your real friends will already have it
Use the privacy settings to limit what people you don’t know can see
Tell an adult that you trust if something happens online that makes you uncomfortable or afraid or push the CEOP’s report button on www.thinkuknow.co.uk or www.ceop.police.uk
Don’t post any image online that you wouldn’t be happy to show your parents. Once an image is online it can be copied by and forwarded to any of the 1.5 billion people who have an Internet connection.
