In 1999 a U.S. government task force estimated at any given time in the US there were 63,000 stalkers using internet chat forums to victimize over 474,000 people.

As you shold be aware sexual molesters, perverts, fraud artists and a wide range of criminals are attracted to chat rooms because they can exploit or taek advantage of the chat room relationship to gain information to then use to lure their victims and either steal things from them or sexually molest them.

Police advise that chat-rooms are dangerous because;

i- you don't know who is on the other side writing the response; .

ii-people make "friends" in chat rooms and share confidences with others you don't know.

Because of the above, we are now learning from more and more convictions and documented cases that chat rooms could beused by people to exploit others.

To put it bluntly they present an excellent opportunity for friminals to find victims.

The motus operandi is pretty much the same whether they are a sexual molester stalking someone to molest or a con man in search of someone's money to steal.

You meet them in the chat room and they come across as sympathetic and understanding and sometimes they will portray themselves in positions of authority like teachers, professors, therapists.

They use their identity to offer you advice and to gain your confidence so they can get inside information about you.

If your relationship remains strictly online its cool IF you're careful not to give out any personal information.

That is precisely why an adult such as myself would never under any circumstance ask a child to go off line or ask a child for personal information.

For that matter you should be very suspisicous if you do not know me and I enter a chat forum and tell you I am a professional looking for clients.

Think about it. An ethical professional would follow a rule of conduct that would define it unethical to engage in a dual relationship with a client. A dual relationship would mean the therapist or professional has a role with the client other then the professional one.

In the case let's say of someone claiming to be a therapist and asking you to be a client through a chat forum, he or she would be placing themselves in a dual role -one where they are a fellow poster supposedly engaged in a mutual anonymous exchange of personal information, and now another where they want to change the relationshop and use the personal information they got anonymously from you for different reasons.

You may wish to look at www.survivorsfirst.org/pedmo.html for a good article on the way a pedophile thinks and how they would try fool or entice people.

All I will say now is please when you use chat forums maintain your anonimity and please if you are young or a woman, take precautions for your safety and security.

Most professional codes of practice now are being drafted to include clauses that forbid professionals from using chat forums as a place to solicit clients.

Hopefully this will help in an on-going battle to keep chat forums safe for us all.

Thanks. Something today compelled me to write this post.

Here's an exerpt from a non profit organization promoting safe internet use by children;

"It can be tempting to get together with someone you meet in a chat room, but remember - people are not always who they seem to be. The basic rules for online safety apply to all areas of the Internet, but they are especially important in chat areas. Never give out personal information, and never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone you meet in a chat room without first checking with your parents and taking all of the necessary precautions.

Chat rooms are sometimes organized around topics, so avoid any topic area that makes you feel uncomfortable. But just because a chat room is designed around a particular topic doesn't mean that other topics aren't discussed. Even if the room is "teens only," you have no way of knowing if everyone really is a teenager, so you still have to be on guard.

Be especially careful of chat rooms that get into subjects that might be associated with sex or cults or groups that practice potentially dangerous rituals. It might seem interesting or even fun to discuss actions that you might never consider engaging in, but some people who fantasize about things also like to carry them out.

Be suspicious of anyone who tries to turn you against your parents, teachers, or friends. They may have a hidden agenda.

On some services and web sites you can enter into a private chat area where you can arrange to meet friends. In some cases, those rooms are truly private. But in other cases they may be listed in a directory of rooms. If so, there is nothing to stop others from entering those rooms.

One trick to avoid harassment, especially for women and girls, is to choose a gender-neutral name - like your initials or a word - to use in a chat room. It's fine to be cute or funny with the name you choose, but be sure it doesn't identify you and doesn't have any meaning or implication that might encourage others to bother you.

YOU CAN STILL HAVE FUN - JUST BE AWARE

We are not trying to discourage you from using the internet. The internet is going to play a larger role in society as the years go by. All we are saying is that you should always be aware of the consequences of your actions when on the internet.
We hope you enjoy the internet. It is a wonderful invention and has opened up a world of opportunity for your generation."

I fuggen hate Stalkers.

We should stalk them. :mad:

Good post, Rube.

anomnity is a double edged sword...

thats very true rube.
excellent post .
i would like to add something here even thou iam new .
i was stalked by someone younger than me, when he threatened to take me to his flat and kill me was bad but when he threatened to kill my partner that was when fear took over .
he knew what time i went to bed ,what time i got up he even hassled my mates going to there houses asking where i was .he used to follow me up and down the street all the time to and from the school he even started questioning my kids this bloke was totally of his head i had to call the police in ,in the end they gave me a police escort one morning ,but this guy was cleaver he said he was visiting his mum she lived in a ajoining street this carried on for a year so in the end i had my brother to stay with me for protection he was scared of him my brothers a big chap ,this guy wasnt afraid of my partner .but he was afraid of my brother he had a quite word in his ear . in the end it stopped i should have took out a injuction even before it got to that point .but he had got it into his head there was a relationship when there wasnt. being on the end of a stalker was a eye opener .plus i still see him when he decideds to make a appearance which is rare now .

that must be awful, what a wierdo, surely you should get a restraining order now against him, and aren't death threats illegal you should have him locked up,

this was about 7years ago now he would be about 30 now .i think most of the time he was on something eg like drugs . the last time i saw him jamgo88 was last year he walked past the school hes a waste of space .

Well I am glad you are safe and lived to learn from this. You help others with your story.

you post some excellent advice my friend. i could see the person but when your on a computer you dont know whos at the other end i hope people read your post and take notes because i have . thanks rube .

Whoa, thats wierd, i just posted somthing almost similar to this sort of thing!
its so scary, men are scary! i know not all of them, but some......makes me shiver!

you make a very good point. i suppose thats what the mods are for to spot a fake .

Dito that. Most the time the person dont turn out to be the person that you thought they were.

true they dont do they ?

your scaring me now! have we got fake people on here then?

We certainly do Sister Twisted... we certainly do at times.... so best to always be cautious because sometimes the person doesn't turn out to be the person they claim to be...

Dingo
.

Don't be scared! Education and awareness makes you strong!

Yea, u here all the time about kids and pedos/gross old men, i met someone who wasnt who they said they were, i went to meet him but i took about 3 mates with me and we hid until he turned up, but this weird old guy turned up and looked well strange, i knew it was him, he was wearing what he said he would be, so we just went and i never spoke to him again....

gross!

Mods also have to be fair to everyone and not jump to conclusions so in that sense it is up to us to protect and educate ourselves when we enjoy these chat lines. None of us can expect mods or for that matters others to always be there to protect us or use common sense for us.

That said fear is only a symptom of not being aware...education and awareness is what empowers us and makes fear disolve!

Excellent original post.

What would the world be like without pedophiles/rapists/murderers/vandals etc.....Probably a nice place to be in right? Thats how it use to be many many yonko years ago. You didnt have to worry about locking your door at night. You didnt have to worry about goin to a party and having your drink spiked and waking up to find out that someone has done something horrific to you.

Many kids on the internet are in serious danger. Theres already been how many cases? or children being taken, after meeting with someone from the net, not only kids either. But saying that, thousands of people meet each other off the net. How can you truly know that someone is going to harm you? You dont until they actually have a chance to. (In person)

But i know loads of people including myself who has once in their life time found hapiness through the net. My mums friend is married to a guy and has kids from someone she met from the internet. So its not all bad. But bad enough.

If that makes sence. Just giving my lil say on this topic.