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You see it everywhere, at the mall, in the park, even in school; people ‘chatting’ on their cell phones and sending Instant Messages back and forth to each other. When they get home, they continue these cyber-conversations on their computers. Instant Messages, it is the way to stay in touch! While cell phone instant messages (SMS: Short Message Service) tend to be short and sometimes cryptic in nature, online Instant Messaging is a huge, well-developed form of communication. Not only is it easy for friends to stay in touch with friends, co-workers to stay in contact with other employees, and hobbyists to share similar interests ; it is also a medium that is finding an increasing amount of dangerous use by scam artists, pedophiles and other criminals, bent on taking advantage of others. The important question comes down to: “how can you enjoy these fun and useful communications systems while protecting yourself from the dangers that could be lurking?”

Generally speaking, any sort of real-time text messaging system is considered Instant Messaging. From large worldwide systems to the smaller intra-office business set-ups, people located in the same building, city, country, or even on the other side of the globe, can stay in touch… any time!

Not too long ago, some cellular phone companies established text messaging capability between subscribers on their own system. While cellular phone instruments have decreased in size, they have substantially increased in capability. Now, most every cellular company offers their subscribers the ability to text message virtually anyone in the world that has a computer or a phone with the text-messaging option. Not only that, but as more and more cell phones become web-enabled, users of such various Internet services can now send messages back and forth between computers and cell phones. However, not all these conveniences come without an element of risk. You should become aware of these dangers before you are so caught up in the wonders of technology that you forget about its ‘dark side’.

In general, you should NOT conduct “sensitive” conversations via any text messaging service unless you know for a fact that the person you are chatting with is who they say they are. What constitutes a sensitive conversation? That is a good question! And the answer will vary depending on whom you are chatting with, and what the nature of the conversation is.

Let’s take for example two school friends or co-workers chatting about weekend plans. More than likely, nothing ‘sensitive’ will come up. Since they know each other in real life, most likely, the person they are IMing IS who they say they are. Sensitive information in this case may only be things you would not want others to know, should they be looking over your friend’s shoulder while you are carrying on your conversation!

But how about the person that you have just recently met online? Let’s say you are 17 years old, a Junior in High School, and are online just to meet new and interesting people around town, and around the country. Generally, there is nothing wrong with that. It’s nice to meet new people and get a different perspective on things. You strike up an IM with someone. Their profile says they are also 17; they happen to be of the opposite sex, and then there is their picture… Nice looking! Yeah..! I can chat with them!

So, you carry on a chat with them. Wow…they are really nice! You ask them if you could buddy list them. Soon, you are chatting with them just about every night after school. You talk about your day; they tell you about theirs. You discuss your parents, and how they just don’t always ‘get it’. Your new friend agrees. This type of interaction may go on for months, and probably 98% of the time, it is benign. The other person IS exactly who they say they are. What about that other 2% of the time though? What happens then?

It is no secret that pedophiles, sexual predators and scam artists, who prey on innocent and trusting online users, are out there, lurking. They are very patient, with some taking months to ‘groom’ their intended victim. Then when the moment is right, they ‘strike’. You are having a bad day, perhaps a bad week. They know all about it. You have told them. Coincidentally, they say something like “Hey! My parents are coming to visit my aunt and uncle in your town this weekend. Maybe we could finally meet in person!”

You are more than happy to agree and arrange to meet at the local mall. Your friend already knows what you look like, as you exchanged pictures, but you are about to find out that they are not who they said they were. You have been dealing with a predator, and you are about to be in some very serious trouble. Sound far-fetched? It isn’t. It has happened numerous times before, and it will continue to happen until people get much savvier regarding Internet safety. Obviously, in the case of chatting with someone that you have never met in real life, the idea of sensitive information takes on a whole new meaning. Sensitive information in this case would be anything that could let the other person know your real name, address, phone number, or where you go to school.

• Follow this link for and overview of the popular IM services >>