Meeting People Online• As a general rule, children should never plan to meet

anybody in person whom they have encountered online.

Explain that people met online may not be who they

say they are.

• When face-to-face meetings seem appropriate—the

person is a student from a nearby school, for

example—the meeting should be arranged only with

your approval. It should be in a safe public place, and

you or another responsible adult should be present.

• Children should never give out personal information

over the Internet. They should use an online name (not

their real name) and never reveal their address,

telephone number, or any identifying information.

• No pictures, letters, or telephone calls should be

exchanged with online acquaintances without your

approval. Monitor such communications.

• If online acquaintances send your children email that

makes them uncomfortable or that they know is

obscene, they should inform you at once. The same

applies to information they see on message boards or

chat rooms.

Making Online Purchases• Children need to learn to be savvy consumers. The term

“free” doesn’t always mean free. Con artists use the term

to attract more business. The children should ask you

before signing up for anything over the Internet, even

when signing up does not require a credit card number.

• Encourage an attitude of healthy skepticism toward

websites that offer prizes or giveaways. Chances are,

all the child has “won” is the opportunity to buy

something he or she didn’t want in the first place.

• Establish explicit rules for getting clearance for online

purchases, including documentation to be kept.

Following Links• Consider using a family-safe or child-safe search engine

or a filter, blocking, or ratings system. Some services

have a “kids only” section so you can be sure the

children won’t have access to questionable material.

• Encourage your children to ask you to check out new

sites with them.

• Be responsive and nonjudgmental if they tell you about

an inappropriate site they found accidentally.

The Internet can be a wonderful toolfor children and youth

• Homework: Kids can use the most current news,

encyclopedias, and other source materials to find

information for research projects.

• Communication: Kids can use email and public

message boards to keep in touch with family and

friends.

• Entertainment and education: Kids can use the Internet

to make a virtual visit to a museum, take a college

course, play games, etc.

But the Internet can also be dangerous. Here are some

things families can do to encourage today’s computer-

savvy young people to be computer-safe.

Using the Computer Is a Family Affair• Agree on a list of rules and post it by the computer. The

rules should cover how long children can spend on the

Internet, how late they can surf the Web, what they may

and may not visit on the Web, and whether or not they

are allowed to make purchases over the Web. Have

everyone in the household sign an Internet pledge (see

www.safekids.com/kidsrules.htm).

• Talk to your kids. Keep the lines of communication

open, and never blame the victim! If a child tells you

about an upsetting event experienced online, don’t

blame him or her. How you react will affect how much

he or she shares with you in the future.

Nat

iona

l Cri

me

Pre

vent

ion

Co

unci

l10

00 C

onn

ectic

ut A

venu

e, N

W •

13t

h F

loo

r •

Was

hing

ton,

DC

2003

6 •

ww

w.n

cpc.

org

You

have

lot

s of

cho

ices

for

buy

ing

pres

crip

tion

dru

gs t

hese

day

s. A

mon

g th

em

are

onlin

e ph

arm

acie

s. M

any

onlin

e ph

arm

acie

s of

fer

grea

ter

conv

enie

nce

and

low

er p

rice

s th

an t

he c

orne

r dr

ugst

ore,

but

if y

ou d

on’t

kno

w f

or s

ure

if t

he s

ell-

er y

ou’re

deal

ing

with

is le

gitim

ate,

you

may

be

at r

isk

of r

ecei

ving

pro

duct

sth

at

are

cont

amin

ated

, cou

nter

feit

, or

not

appr

oved

by

the

FDA

—or

you

may

pay

and

rece

ive

noth

ing

at a

ll.

Cou

nter

feit

dr

ugs

can

be

dang

erou

s to

yo

ur

heal

th.

Cou

nter

feit

m

edic

ine

may

be

inef

fect

ive

or

caus

e se

riou

s si

de e

ffec

ts s

uch

as a

n al

lerg

ic r

eact

ion.

Dru

gs t

hat

are

legi

tim

ate

but

not

corr

ectl

y pr

escr

ibed

(fo

r ex

ampl

e, t

hose

pres

crib

ed

by

an

onlin

e do

ctor

w

ho

has

not

exam

ined

yo

u)

can

also

be

harm

ful

or i

neff

ecti

ve.

Her

e ar

e so

me

tips

for

buy

ing

pres

crip

tion

dru

gs o

nlin

e:

1.

Nev

er p

urch

ase

pres

crip

tion

dru

gs w

itho

ut y

our

doct

or’s

pre

scri

ptio

n.S

ome

onlin

e ph

arm

acie

s w

ill s

ell y

ou d

rugs

wit

hout

one

or

only

req

uire

tha

t yo

u fi

ll

out

a sh

ort

ques

tion

nair

e. T

akin

g dr

ugs

wit

hout

the

adv

ice

of a

hea

lthc

are

prof

essi

onal

may

put

you

at

risk

for

dru

g in

tera

ctio

ns a

nd o

ther

ser

ious

con

-

sequ

ence

s.

2.

Be

fam

iliar

wit

h th

e m

edic

atio

ns y

ou t

ake,

inc

ludi

ng t

he c

olor

, si

ze,

shap

e,

tast

e, a

nd s

ide

effe

cts.

If

you

rece

ive

a co

unte

rfei

t m

edic

atio

n, y

ou m

ay b

e

able

to

iden

tify

it

mor

e ea

sily

.

3.

Mak

e su

re t

he p

acka

ge o

r co

ntai

ner

the

med

icat

ion

com

es i

n ha

s no

t be

en

alte

red

or t

he l

abel

cha

nged

.

4.

Onl

y bu

y pr

escr

iptio

n m

edic

atio

ns fr

om a

lice

nsed

pha

rmac

y, o

nlin

e or

off

line.

To d

eter

min

e if

a w

ebsi

te is

a li

cens

ed p

harm

acy

in g

ood

stan

ding

, ch

eck

with

the

Nat

iona

l Ass

ocia

tion

of B

oard

s of

Pha

rmac

y (w

ww.

nabp

.net

, 847

-698

-622

7).

5.

Do

not

purc

hase

dru

gs f

rom

a f

orei

gn w

ebsi

te.It

may

be

illeg

al t

o im

port

the

drug

s bo

ught

fro

m t

hese

sit

es.

6.

Use

com

mon

sen

se.I

f th

e w

ebsi

te a

dver

tise

s a

drug

as

a “m

irac

le c

ure”

for

a

dise

ase

or p

ushe

s a

drug

that

gua

rant

ees

wei

ght l

oss,

the

clai

ms

are

prob

ably

fals

e.

7.

Rep

ort

any

web

site

for

a p

harm

acy

that

you

thi

nk i

s ill

egal

or

any

drug

you

purc

hase

d th

at y

ou s

uspe

ct i

s co

unte

rfei

t. I

f yo

u bo

ught

the

dru

g by

mai

l,

tele

phon

e, o

r in

per

son,

con

tact

the

FD

A’s

Med

wat

ch p

rogr

am a

t 8

00

-33

2-

10

88

or

at w

ww

.fda

.gov

/med

wat

ch/.

To r

epor

t a

coun

terf

eit

drug

tha

t yo

u

boug

ht o

n th

e In

tern

et, vi

sit

ww

w.f

da.g

ov/o

c/bu

yonl

ine/

buyo

nlin

efor

m.h

tmor

call

the

Med

wat

ch n

umbe

r.

Prot

ectin

gYo

urse

lf Fr

omCo

unte

rfeit

Drug

s

If yo

u do

n’t k

now

for s

ure

if th

e se

ller

you’

re d

ealin

g wi

th is

legi

timat

e, y

ou m

ay b

e at

risk

of re

ceivi

ng p

rodu

cts

that

are

con

tam

inat

ed,

coun

terfe

it, o

r not

appr

oved

by

the

FDA.

®