Last week, someone was murdered in Forest Hills. According to newspaper reports, the victim had met his killer on the Internet. This is at least the third such incident is recent months.
With the creation of the Internet, online dating has become a way for people to connect, but everyone must be careful when meeting people over the Internet. As parents, we must protect our children. As adults, we must protect ourselves.
Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone you met on the Internet in your home. If you decide to meet in person someone you met on the Internet, pick a public place and make sure you are familiar with the area before you agree to the location. Meet during the day.
While you want to relax and have fun, your life can depend on your choices. Meet your potential match at the rendezvous location and never rely on someone you do not know for a ride. Do not accept a ride home even when you feel as though your date is on the up and up. If you drove, you also want to avoid allowing them to walk you to your car. It is best to even keep the make, model and license plate of your car a secret.
You also should give your date details — time, date and location — to a friend. You can ask a friend to call you on your cell phone to check in during the date.
Remember the information someone tells you about themselves online may or may not be true.
Parents should instruct their children they should never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they met online.
Children should be supervised while using the Internet. There are signs children might be at risk online. If a child spends hours of time online, parents should be aware and involved in their activities.
If the child receives phone calls from people the parent does not know or long-distance phone calls, this could be a cause for concern.
If the child receives mail, gifts or packages from someone the parent does not know, this could be part of the seduction process.
Children should never post pictures of themselves online or give out identifying information such as their names, addresses, phone numbers, schools or telephone numbers.
Heidi Harrison Chain
President
112th Precinct Community Council
Forest Hills
