It’s really easy to be someone you’re not on the internet.  After all, who’s going to know if you add a couple inches to your height, pad your bra size, or add a couple zeros to your net worth?  You can be funnier, cuter, more confident, the ideal version of you.  But guess what?  If it’s easy for you to be someone you’re not, it’s easy for someone else too.

Anyone who’s ever seen an episode of Law & Order or CSI knows there are people who use the internet to meet kids for purposes not totally kosher.  And they’re not always that easy to spot.  They’re really good at what they do: making friends with and trying to seduce kids into meeting them for sex. 

Sometimes the guy pretends to be a kid, trying to meet you on your level.  He could have a tricked out profile with music, video, and a pic of a hot teen-next-door.  Or he might come right out and say he’s 35, 47, 68 years old and thinks you’re the sexiest thing ever.

That should send your Skeev-O-Meter right through the roof.  I know it freaks me right out.

And there are a lot of these guys.  Did you know that 1 kid in 5 says they’ve been sexually solicited on the internet?  These guys prey on kids who are unsure of themselves, eager for attention and spend a lot of time online.

So all of us, basically.

But if you don’t want to be the next ‘Law & Order: Ripped from the Headlines,’ there are some things you can do.

• Remember people aren’t always who they say they are.  That cute blonde sophomore you met the other day could be a fifty-something year old fat man with a weakness of 14 year olds.  It’s more than possible.  So watch what you say online.

• Don’t post personal information or revealing pics in your profile.  Once an image or bit of information is put online, you can’t control it.  Your pic could end up on a pedophilic porn site, your face could be photoshopped to a porn star’s body and emailed all over, your mom could find it.  I used to have my cell number posted on my profile, but after the third creepy call from a guy I didn’t know, I took it down.  Having your cell online is like scrawling it on a bathroom stall with the epitaph ‘Call me for a good time!”

• Report inappropriate behavior to the authorities.  If you feel threatened, call the cops.  In most states it’s illegal for an adult to have a sexually explicit conversation with a minor, and if the perv tries to send you pictures or get pics from you, that’s definitely illegal!