By Terri-Marie Cook
Carly Ryan was a young girl seeking her mark in the world. She had many friends and was loved by her family. Unfortunately she lost her life at the hands of an internet predator: a man in his fifties, posing to be a teenage boy ‘emo’ called Brendan Kane, an internet construct. This ‘boy’ as it were, began an online relationship that started out innocently enough, but was based on nothing more than lies and deception. The climax of this terrible story comes when Carly turned fifteen, and the boy’s ‘father’ attended the birthday celebration. Carly believed this man could be trusted, but this was a manipulating man’s deceptive alter persona. He in fact was to be feared.
Carly found out the hard way, sadly with her life, that this man in fact orchestrated the relationship. Carly was bashed and drowned in the shallow waters of Port Elliott, after she rebutted his endeavours.
Carly’s mother Sonya has vowed to turn her loss into something positive. She has set up a foundation in Carly’s honour. Sonya’s goal is to educate others about the dangers of internet use and abuse. She hopes no one else has so suffer as she and Carly have. The Carly Ryan Foundation to promote internet safety is hoping to make students aware of the dangers lurking behind some online networks.
Facebook, Myspace and other bogging online services are great for social networks…And many log on daily, but sadly these types of networks can have hidden pitfalls if you are not aware of them, or fall victim to them. The foundation hopes to educate students to these issues.
Identity theft is another issue, as is paedophilia, and porn. The police are well aware of these issues, and have undercover operations to try and stamp out these people who prey on internet users.
What can you do to prevent these crimes happening to you?
• Hackers can access your networks if you store your passwords on your system, so don’t accept your passwords to be stored, always type it in when you want to access the sites.
• Don’t give out your credit card details, especially when asked to supply it for proof of age. There are some secure sites and these are recognised by a lock symbol.
• Don’t believe all that is said and written and do some research. Ask for references if you must.
Many tales of woe have been submitted to forums, and current affairs programs on television. One recent submission highlighted the rental sector theft that was an issue for those seeking to rent properties in Adelaide. Prominent ads were being listed in newspapers and via the internet offering homes for rent: prospective tenants were to send a large deposit, some prior to viewing the properties… Then when the time came to inspect or sign the lease, the prospective tenent found it to be a con. There was no property for rent. Once couple lost $1500.00 when they were planning on moving from interstate and sent the money without viewing the property. They were trusting the ‘owner’ based on the quality of the photos and property description.
Bottom line – If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
Email: carlyryanfoundation@live.com.au
If you feel unsafe online: contact Bank SA Crimestoppers 1800 333 000
News Update
Children can now click an online button that instantly notifies the Australian Federal Police when Internet predators strike.
The AFP announced last week on the news, the launch a new website featuring a “red button” that encourages young people to alert police when they have been approached by suspected sex offenders, or have received sexual images.