Internet Danger #2: Sexual Predators

The online world opens the door for trusting young people to interact with virtual strangers - even people they'd normally cross the street to avoid in real life. About 1 in 7 kids have been sexually solicited online, says John Shehan, CyberTipline program manager for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia. The CyberTipline helps prevent sexual exploitation of children by reporting cases of kids enticed online to do sexual acts.

While sexual predators have targeted children in chat rooms, they migrate to wherever young people go online, Shehan says. More predators are now scouring social networking sites, such as MySpace and Xanga, because these sites have centralized so much information, Shehan says. A child's profile typically includes photos, personal interests and blogs.

"In terms of predators, that's obviously a hot spot where they can go to research victims," Shehan says. "They need to meet these kids, groom these children and become friends."

Predators may take on fake identities and feign interest in a child's favorite bands, TV shows, video games or hobbies. "They come across to the children as their new best friend. They're going to have the same likes and dislikes," Shehan says. "It's quite crafty what these child predators will go through."