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Mother Wants Maximum Penalty in Cyberbullying Case
The Associated press
November 28, 2008
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The mother of a girl who committed suicide at age 13 after being subjected to an Internet hoax said Friday that she would ask that the maximum penalty be assigned to the woman convicted in the cyberbullying case.
The defendant, Lori Drew, 49, of O’Fallon, Mo., was convicted Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles on misdemeanor charges of accessing computers without authorization. Her lawyer later said he hoped a judge would dismiss the charges against her.
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Taking on cyberbullying
Empty room underscores presenters message
By Diana Cox
Las Vegas Sun
November 20, 2008
Scott Hensley, information literacy specialist at Bob Miller Middle School, knows a thing or two about how computers have changed school life. He is not a librarian, he notes, because computers have changed the role school libraries play in education now.
He also has researched how technology has changed bullying, and he is concerned. Because the Internet makes it anonymous, it is more brutal in some ways and can have long-term devastating effects on its victims, he said.
Hensley scheduled a seminar Nov. 12 at Miller to explain his concern to parents, but no one showed up. He thinks it’s because many liken cyberbullying to “typical middle school bullying.”
It is anything but typical, Hensley said.
Prepared with a PowerPoint presentation, he summarized the research he’s done on the phenomenon. Cyberbullying is anonymous and can turn into a pack mentality situation very quickly, he said. One report estimates 58 percent of preteens and teenagers report witnessing or being involved in cyberbullying, he said.
Studies have shown a large increase in girls as the perpetrators, because “there is no physical confrontation involved,” Hensley said.
No students have used Miller’s anonymous cyberbullying reporting system on the school’s main Web page yet, he said, and school officials know of no instances of cyberbullying at Miller this year. But that does not ease Hensley’s concern.
Parents and school employees are behind the curve and may not know what to look for, he said.
“Right now, parents are not digital natives, but our children are,” he said. “This has happened faster than parents, educators and lawmakers can get a grasp on.”
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Internet Predators May Know Too Much About Your Kids
By Cindy Morrison
Newschannel 8
November 12, 2008
Tulsa – With a few clicks of the mouse, an Internet predator can be looking at a picture of your home. Unfortunately, your child can accidentally give a cyber stalker all they need.
Even the most cautious child can give out too much information. MySpace, Facebook and other social networking websites allow teens to meet, chat and share pictures. The problem is, your kids can unknowingly give what could be dangerous information.
Even if your child doesn’t use a last name online, and never lists your address, they still leave clues to who they are, what they look like and how to find them.
We asked Tulsa Police Sergeant Tim Stadler to show us just how easy it is to track someone in cyberspace. Without using any fancy police software, we asked him to find out all the information he could by simply starting with a Facebook profile.
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Local woman becomes victim after posting Craigslist ad
Newschannel36 WCNC
By Bobby Sisk
November 11, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jamila Smith just wanted to sell her University area house.
“I listed my home three months ago. The initial intent was for sale,” Smith said, sitting in her dining room.
Then the economy slowed. The housing market tanked. And she changed her ad on Craigslist.org.
“I decided to place it for rent,” she said.
For $1,350 a month, Smith would rent her three bedroom home near Northlake Mall. Little did she know, she’d soon be tangled in a web of deceit and forced to try and defend her name.
Smith’s story starts with a knock at the door.
She said, “The police showed up with a young lady saying that she is here for some puppies.” That woman had come from Virginia, after wiring $500 via Western Union to someone who claimed they lived at Smith’s Address.
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Social networking: Is it worth the risk?
By Vicky L. Lorencen
Citizen Patriot
November 09, 2008
Kevin Conaway of Napoleon is a self-proclaimed Facebook addict.
He’s not alone.
Conaway, 18, is one of 60 million active Facebook social network users. Users of Facebook and other Internet networking sites keep in touch with their real-world and online friends by posting their pictures, thoughts and opinions.
Sure, privacy settings are in place, but that doesn’t mean there’s 100 percent security. Even if someone isn’t able to hack into your information, that doesn’t stop online “friends” from spreading personal information about you across cyberspace.
So is it worth the risk of your “personal” exchanges and photos being intercepted by millions?
“This is just my opinion, but I think it’s part lack of understanding cause and effect, and part a desire to belong,” said Ben Redmond, 32, of Jackson, a youth pastor at Westwinds Community Church who uses sites including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. “For many people, the online world offers a sort of pseudo-friendship that is an inadequate but acceptable substitute for the real thing. In many teenager’s minds, if the trade-off for the sense of belonging is a risk of privacy, it’s an easy choice to make.”
Redmond has worked with teens and college students for 12 years. He estimates that 95 percent of students he knows use Facebook or MySpace.
He said he sees the lines between public and private blurring.
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Craigslist search to help cops fight crime
By O’Ryan Johnson
Boston Herald
November 9, 2008
Bowing to a challenge from the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, the popular Web site craigslist.org last week unveiled new search tools for use by law enforcement aimed at helping track down exploited children and victims of human trafficking.
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‘Street View’ Images Draw Concern
By Michele Sager
Tampa Tribune
LAKE MAGDALENE – Cruising along the streets of Westchase neighborhoods, it’s easy to spot normal neighborhood activity.
Landscapers lay mulch in a pristine yard. A resident has stacked plastic water bottles in a recycling bin on a driveway. A jogger runs past Davidsen Middle School.
While it might seem normal to see such routine activities in suburbia, what is unusual is that all of these actions were spotted without entering Westchase. They were digital images found on the “street view” feature of Google’s mapping software program.
And while residents might be uncomfortable with the online intrusion, it can become dangerous when children are added to the mix, online safety experts say.
“A predator can cruise playgrounds, schools or even homes to find where children are located,” said Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators, a national organization that campaigns for legislation to prevent the exploitation of children.
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