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IM Safety

Have you ever gotten a new screen name to trick your friends? It wasn't hard..just go to a website and sign up for a new name. Change your fonts, and add a profile...and you're set to go with your new personality. Your friends will never know it's you! But wait...if it's that easy to "become someone else", doesn't it make you wonder who else is doing that? The truth is: a lot of people are. Some people do it for fun, like you. But some people do it for different reasons. Those are the kind of people you don't want to meet online, or anywhere else. Here are some easy tips on how to keep the bad guys out of your life.

Only talk to people you know. It may seem fun to talk to random people online, but what do you know about them? It's very easy for people to pretend to be somebody else. It would be very scary if some old man started talking to you!

Never use your phone numbers on away messages like, "I'm at the movies, call my cell 555-1234!". Anybody can view your profile, even if they aren't on your buddy list. Your friends should know your phone number, don't tell the whole world. If you use your home phone number, anyone can easily track down your address, then they know where you live!

Even if you have a best friend that you met online, do not ever agree to meet anywhere. Many people have been tricked into thinking they know someone they met online, only to find out who they meet isn't at all who they expected.

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