EWMS Eighth Graders Learn Cyber Safety From Attorney General’s Office

March 25, 2009

The Florida Attorney General’s CyberCrime Office painted a picture of reality on the Internet for eighth graders and Ernest Ward Middle School during a Tuesday presentation.

As of last week, 127,390 students in Florida have heard the presentation on Internet safety this school year. Of those, 3,450 have reported that they have been victims.

“I want you to be safe. I want you to be knowledgeable of the hidden dangers when you post online, because some people out there are trying to lure you in and do you harm. These dangers are not limited to your computer. They are real, and some people will try to hurt you emotionally and physically. Be selective in the information you post or give out. “ASL” – Age, Sex, Location – are three of the most dangerous pieces of information to give out online,” Attorney General Bill McCollum wrote on the AG’s Cybercrime Unit MySpace page.

Anyone that requests a Myspace “add” from the CyberCrime unit, students will receive a badge to display on their MySpace page.

The CyberCrime Unit offers tips for students that believe they have been solicited online:

If you believe you have been inappropriately solicited online or find yourself in a situation that makes you uncomfortable, you should report it! There are different ways you can do this:

• Tell your parent or parents.

• Tell a trusted adult. This could be a friend, a teacher, a scout leader, a leader in your community, a coach, a member of law enforcement or a religious leader.

• Tell one of the Advocates or volunteers giving the Attorney General’s CyberSafety presentation at your school.

• Report the incident at the Attorney General’s anonymous tip line found at his SafeSurf Website.

• Visit the CyberTipLine Website.

• Call 1-800-THE-LOST.

To visit the CyberCrime Unit’s MySpace page, click here. For more information on Internet safety visit www.safeflorida.net/safesurf.

Comments

One Response to “EWMS Eighth Graders Learn Cyber Safety From Attorney General’s Office”

  1. James Moretz, SRO on March 25th, 2009 6:44 am

    I’ve been to the Attorney General’s Website and there’s great information for students and parents. I urge all parents to spend some time on the Attorney General’s Webpage, so that they can be armed with information about some of the hidden dangers lurking on the internet.
    The eight graders is only the first group to receive this presentation at EWMS. The sixth and seventh graders will be shown the Attorney General’s presentation during the next few weeks. Thanks William for helping “spread the word” by publishing this!