Chatting remains incredibly popular among children and teens, and unfortunately it is therefore popular with online predators as well. Chat rooms and Instant Messaging programs remain the most popular medium with predators, and monitoring them without using a software designed for it is already incredibly hard. Then you get into chatspeak, a never-ending codex of acronyms and codes for all sorts of common expressions. Try and follow this:

donboy32: A/L/P??
crazyjaney13: 13/??/!! no way
donboy32: cmon, 20?
crazyjaney: u AL?
donboy32: 17/NYC…DYHAB?
crazyjaney13: ,><, no
donboy32: FWB ??
crazyjaney13: ??
donboy32: nm. bet u r SSC.
crazyjaney13: yep

At this point donboy32 has asked crazyjaney13 her location, for a picture, if she has a boyfriend, and has made two different lude suggestions. But this is just the typical get to know you chit-chat. Let’s fast forward a bit.

donboy32: WTGP?
crazyjaney13: sur

In this brief interchange crazyjaney13 has agreed to go into a private chat with donboy32. This is a typical move from an internet predator and is the first step in isolating their target. Once they have been in a private chat for a while…

donboy32: IWSN
crazyjaney13:
donboy32: RUUP4IT?
crazyjaney13: dk…oops, 9
donboy32: dc, IWSN
crazyjaney13: RUNTS?!?!?!
donboy32: YES! RUH?
crazyjaney13: a little. k, 99

Donboy32, in this short exchange, has demanded sex twice and asked crazyjaney13 if she is horny. Also, by typing 9 and then 99, crazyjaney13 said that her parents were watching and then told him when they no longer were. From here, conversations can lead to…

donboy32: u do 8?
crazyjaney13: not yet…
donboy32: DUM?
crazyjaney13: sometimes
donboy32: DURS. LHSO
crazyjaney13: idk
donboy32: iwu. gimme 20, k? TM
crazyjaney13: …
donboy32: Cmon, we can mirl, be fun
crazyjaney13: ok …

Here the conversation has gotten way more lurid, with donboy32 being much more open about what he wants. In his last two messages, he has again asked for crazyjaney13’s location and suggest to meet in real life (mirl).

If your kid is chatting, then they have a good chance to be exposed to someone like donboy32, although real predators take much more time to “groom” their prey. By the time crazyjaney13 has agreed to “go private” she’s already said things she might be ashamed to tell her parents. Open lines of communication are the most important thing regarding your child’s online activity, but there is always the possibility that your kids won’t tell you everything. If your kid is spending a lot of time in chat rooms, you might consider getting a program that can monitor and record IM conversations, if not block the IM programs altogether.

Filed under: Internet Safety News