Online abuse

Online abuse is any type of abuse that happens on the internet, through social media, online gaming or mobile phones. Children and young people may be the victims of online grooming, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or emotional abuse. They also may be exposed to sexting, online misrepresentation and cyberbullying.

Online misrepresentation

Online misrepresentation, popularly known as ‘catfishing’, is when someone pretends to be someone else to befriend people online. Often, people use pictures of people that are younger than themselves or of the opposite sex on social media accounts and chat rooms. These relationships can become romantic and sometimes lead to emotional or sexual abuse.

When you arm yourself with information and resources, you’re wiser about computer security threats and less vulnerable to online fraud scams and tactics. Remember that reputable companies let you come to them rather than approaching you to take action or provide private information. Take these steps to fortify your computer security right away:

• Do not provide personal information to any unsolicited requests for information

• Only provide personal information on sites that have "https" in the web address or have a lock icon at bottom of the browser

• If you suspect you’ve received phishing bait, contact the company that is the subject of the email by phone to check that the message is legitimate and not an online fraud scam

• Type in a trusted URL for a company's site into the address bar of your browser to bypass the link in a suspected phishing message

• Use varied and complex passwords for all your accounts

• Continually check the accuracy of personal accounts and deal with any discrepancies right away

• Avoid questionable Web sites

• Practice safe email protocol:

• Don't open messages from unknown senders

• Immediately delete messages you suspect to be spam

• Update your operating system regularly

• Make sure that you have the best security software products installed on your PC:

• Use antivirus protection and a firewall

• Get antispyware software protection

An unprotected computer is like an open door for phishing and other fraudulent scams. For a more potent way to avoid online fraud, use a spam filter or gateway to scan inbound messages. Products like Webroot Internet Security Complete and Webroot Internet Security Plus thwart dangerous malware before it can enter your PC, stand guard at every possible entrance of your computer and fend off any spyware or viruses that try to enter, even the most damaging and devious strains. While free anti-spyware and antivirus downloads are available, they just can’t keep up with the continuous onslaught of new spyware strains. Previously undetected forms of spyware can often do the most damage, so it’s critical to have up-to-the-minute, guaranteed protection.