Internet Safety

Safety on the Internet
These links are organized into four sections.
1. General Online Safety
2. Children, Teens, Parents
3. Identity Theft
4. Reporting Internet Crimes


General Online Safety

Be Smart Online Opens a New Window.  - What to watch out for & how to stay safe, tips from the U.S. Government.

Safety Tutorial for Internet Newcomers Opens a New Window.  - Get the big picture with this tutorial.  It's simple and features good advice (especially about passwords!).  From LearnFree dot org.

Using Public Wi-Fi Opens a New Window.  - Stay safe while using public wireless internet in the library and other places.

Internet Shopping Safety - Avoid problems & scams with advice from the California Attorney General's office.

Phishing -  Information from the Federal Trade Commission about this common form of internet fraud.

Digital Estate Decisions Opens a New Window.  - what do you want to happen to your accounts if you die or are unable to care for them yourself?  

Children, Teens, Parents 

Protect Kids Online - Information for children, teens, and parents from the U.S. Government.

Cyber Academy Game Opens a New Window.  - A game for children in grades 3-5 to learn about cyber-citizenship and online safety.  This is a free download from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Connect Safely with Social Media - A nonprofit that provides social media safety information for parents.  Understand more about the online world your children encounter and help them avoid problems.

Protecting Children's Privacy on Social Media - An article that guides parents through the privacy settings of selected social media sites popular with children and teens. 

Real-World Reasons Parents Should Care About Kids and Online Privacy - a 2019 article explains the problem.

Videos about Kids & Web Safety - Collected by Common Sense Media.

Identity Theft

Identity Theft - Steps to protect yourself, and to recover from having your personal information stolen, from the Federal Trade Commission.

Identity Theft Resource Center Opens a New Window.  - This nonprofit, a Better Business Bureau accredited charity, provides free help to victims of identity theft.  This site also offers prevention tips, convenient form letters, links to forms, and examples of current scams.

Medical Identity Theft Opens a New Window.  - Tips and details on this specialized form of identity theft, from the World Privacy Forum.

Report Internet Fraud, Identity Theft, & Cyber-Crime

Internet Crime Complaint Center Opens a New Window.    Report fraud and other internet-based crimes.

Justice.gov
 A full list of places to report internet-based crimes of every sort.