Online predators working overtime during summer months

LITTLE ROCK — Online predators target children during the summer months when school is out and children spend more time on the internet.

Parents and adults can protect children while they are accessing online resources and having fun on social media.

“Online predators look to take advantage of a child’s innocence by intimidating them or trying to put them into inappropriate situations,” said Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “And that is why parents and adults must be vigilant in knowing what children are doing and who exactly they are talking to online to make sure they are safe.”

Rutledge released the following tips for parents to implement this summer while their children are home on summer vacation:

• Make sure children keep passwords, pictures and personal information private and share only with their parents or guardian.

• Remind children never to arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they first met online.

• Teach children not to post anything on the internet that they would not want others to see, such as explicit photographs of themselves or others.

• Help them be aware that people they meet online are not always who they say they are.

• Let children know they should not say anything online that they would not say in public.

• Tell them not to respond to messages from people they do not know and to messages that are inappropriate or make them feel uncomfortable.

• Encourage children to tell an adult if they ever encounter a problem online.

The attorney general’s office is hosting an internet safety webcast on Aug. 2 and also provides a tip card for consumers, information for parents to spot cyber bullying and offers a Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety. Community educators are available to present an internet safety program to parents and educators, and regional cyber safety trainings are available this summer for educators across the state.

For more information and tips to avoid scams and other consumer-related issues, call the Arkansas Attorney General’s office at 800-482-8982, email consumer@arkansasag.gov or online, visit http://ArkansasAG.gov.