internet grooming

South Wales Police in the Vale of Glamorgan are reminding parents to be aware of the dangers their children may face when using the popular internet chat-room sites such as Facebook and Bebo. Police say millions of children divulge personal information over internet chat-room sites and openly talk to anyone oblivious of the dangers that could be around them. However, parents are oblivious to what their children are doing on the internet and what information they are putting out there for the world to read. With the access to the internet becoming increasingly easier through Schools, Libraries and Internet Cafes as well as at home combined with an increase in the number of online chat-rooms, internet crime has seen a marked increase. Children are leaving themselves open to the dangers of online grooming. Popular sites such as Facebook and Myspace are very dangerous because now anyone can create an account and it is very easy to access other’s information. The internet is a great tool and is very helpful in many areas but it is also a dangerous and scary thing as far as privacy is concerned. The Virtual Global Taskforce is a website made up of police from around the world dedicated to fighting child abuse online. Its main goal is to build an effective, international partnership of law enforcement agencies which helps to protect children from online child abuse. These type of task forces are a innovative way to interact and see what children are being exposed to. There are profiles created to bate abusers and try to lure them into giving away their location and their motives. More parents need to be aware of what their childr4n are doing online and be protective of the information that they are putting out there for the world to read.