Computers and modems connect to worlds of fun. But look out—you never know who's at the other end of the line.
Criminal lnvestigator Frank Clark lurks around shadowy places at night, disguised and looking for criminals. But he doesn't do it on foot or in a car. He does it by computer.
Part of Clark's job for the Pierce County prosecutor's office in Tacoma, Wash., is protecting kids who use computers. With a computer and a modem, kids can go "online" and communicate with other computer users around the world. They can exchange messages, games, even files containing photographs and voices.
It's fun. But the danger is you never can be sure whom you're talking to online. And that can lead to trouble.
"The problems are very serious," Clark says. "You have no idea if the person is playing a role or playing a game, if they're real or they're dangerous, because they can use false names and say anything they want."
Most of the problems occur on the three major online services: America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy. They offer "chat rooms" in which strangers can "talk," along with easy-to-use electronic mail. They also offer parental controls, which your parents can use to shut the doors to these rooms.
Too often, those controls are needed. Some adults hang out at online chat rooms, posing as kids and trying to learn about kids' interests. They claim to share those interests, hoping kids will exchange e-mail or even talk by phone. Often, they try to get kids to talk about not-so-nice topics.
The scariest thing is when they arrange to meet kids in person. In the worst cases, children have been murdered. That happened to a 10-year-old boy in Maryland in 1993.
Another trouble kids can get into online is less scary, but it can lead to serious problems too.
Call it "good kids meet bad kids." When this happens, the "bad" kids too often take control.
Doug Rehman, a special agent for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, says this has led to cases in which the kids got stolen credit-card numbers and ordered merchandise online.
"A kid might think, 'I'll try it once to see what happens,'" Rehman says.
What happens is, eventually the kid gets arrested for theft.
Anytime you get several million people together, as online services do, some of them are bound to be weird. But that shouldn't spoil your fun—as long as you stay right online.
"I haven't had any problems, nor have any of my friends," says Matt Ellis, a 13-year-old in Scottsdale, Ariz. "If I ever did, I would just log off. If there's something you don't want to see, you don't have to see it."
The experts and kids we interviewed all agree that the benefits of being online far outweigh the risks.
"It's not that you should be scared, but you should be aware," says John Lucich, an investigator for the New Jersey attorney general's office. "Computers are tools, and like any other tool, they must be used with caution."
When you're online, you're in a public place, among thousands of people who are online at the same time. Follow these guidelines, and you'll be fine and have fun:
| The Boy Scouts of America |  |
http://www.scouting.org |