Teach Teens About Online Safety

MySpace is the 6th most popular website in the world according to Alexa.com. With more than 100 million accounts and about 230,000 new registrations a day, there are probably only a handful of teens in America without their own profile.

However, sites like Xanga, MySpace, Blogger, LiveJournal and Facebook that allow users to post personal information about themselves can be prime targets for fraud. Teens may post sensitive data such as their addresses, phone numbers, license plates, scans of credit cards, photos of driver's licenses on publicly available websites. Or they may be contacted directly by scammers through email and IM addresses posted online.

It is important to talk to teens in your life about how to use the internet safely,  avoid fraud and thwart other criminals. The site, 2 SMRT 4U, is a great place to start. Hayden Panettiere, from NBC's Heroes, is the spokesperson and the site features free ringtones, IM icons and a form to order a free 2 SMRT 4U silver ring. The campaign is a joint program from the US Postal Inspection Service and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Other resources include:

• MySpace's Safety Tips
• SafeTeens.com
• Comcast's Security Center
• WiredSafety.com
• The Federal Trade Commission

These sites all offer helpful tips and ideas for talking to your teens about how to protect their privacy online. Use National Consumer Protection Week as your reason to start up a conversation about online safety today!