In a short studio interview, Maria speaks with McAfee identity‑theft expert Robert Siciliano about the alarming frequency of online predators who meet teenage girls through Facebook and other social platforms. Siciliano cites McAfee’s "The Digital Divide" study, which found that more than one in ten teens aged 13‑17 have contacted strangers online and later met them in person. He stresses that such encounters are the norm rather than the exception, estimating that a 25‑year‑old man may contact a 14‑15‑year‑old girl weekly or monthly. The conversation shifts to practical parenting guidance: explaining to children that strangers online may have malicious intent, that friends‑of‑friends are not a safety guarantee, and encouraging a dialogue about online behavior. Siciliano highlights the added risk of mobile device usage, where teens can chat late at night unnoticed. He recommends installing monitoring and filtering software to track texts, media, and browsing, while balancing privacy. The segment concludes with a call to visit McAfee.com and SafeEyes.com for further protection resources.
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All right, Kevin, thank you. As we told you earlier, a Cituate man accused of raping teenagers he met on social networking site Facebook. So always after we do these stories, we always ask, what do we need to know to keep our own kids safe while they're on the internet? Here with advice, great advice always, identity theft expert with McAfee, Robert Siciliano. Of course, it's easy for me to say. Hi, Robert.
Hi, Maria.
Parents hear this story, they want to know the simple answer. What should I be doing to that question?
Well, realize that unfortunately this is This is not the exception. This is the norm. Uh, you could be guaranteed that there's probably a 25, 25— 24, 25-year-old man contacting your 14, 15-year-old daughter over the internet either weekly or monthly. It's gonna happen. It's inevitable. It's the way it is. So as a parent, you need to be aware of that. Your kid needs to be aware of that. Being in denial of that is only gonna get the kid in trouble. McAfee did a study called The Digital Divide, which essentially talked about what parents know and what parents don't know and what kids know. And we found that more than 1 in 10 kids ages 13 to 17 communicated or connected with strangers online, but then met them in the real world. So this is a real problem.
It's a huge problem. So you're a parent. What do you say to your kid? Give me the script.
OK, first and foremost, when you are talking to strangers, realize that these strangers may have bad intentions, that you just can't trust people just because they may be connected with or friends with somebody else that you know. You know, we do business and we trust those who we know, like, and trust, you know, friends of friends. And that's not necessarily good on Facebook or other social media sites. Just because somebody else knows them doesn't necessarily mean that they're a good person. And when you're letting a person know about your personal life, you know, they're getting inside your head, they're getting inside your feelings, and the more they know about you, the more the predator can take advantage of your child. And as a parent, you need to understand that. You know, when a 25-year-old is looking at a 15-year-old, he's saying to himself, you know, "I wish— I wish I, you know, knew then what I know now." Right. With the internet, he does know now, and he can access that 15-year-old. And the parent needs to explain that to the 15-year-old so they're that much more aware, so they begin to think like a predator does.
And, you know, let's talk about the fact that a lot of kids aren't sitting around at computers on Facebook or on all of these social media sites. They're doing it from their phones. And that's— it's so easy to hide in this little space right here, and that's a concern as well. So if you're a parent, check these out, correct?
Yeah, your kid could be in bed at 2 o'clock in the morning communicating with a 40-year-old man and you wouldn't know it. Uh, so it's important that you have this dialogue with them. You need to explain that to them. There's also software that you can install on the different devices that monitors their behavior, monitors that activity. It filters out certain things that you don't want them to be doing. You can monitor text messages and media, videos and so forth. And these technologies exist and I would consider it at least something. You know, 'cause you talk about giving your 15-year-old privacy. You can give them a certain amount of privacy, but I mean, really, you wouldn't put a kid behind the wheel of a car unless they knew how to drive safely. You shouldn't let them loose on the internet unless they know how to navigate it safely.
Excellent advice. You have a website you want to tell people about?
Just go to McAfee.com, you know, check us out. SafeEyes.com and learn how to protect yourself and your family.
Identity theft expert with McAfee, Robert Siciliano. Thanks so much for dropping by our Beacon Hills studio.
