Summary

The Internet's easy, anonymous contact has allowed murderers and pedophiles unprecedented access to connect with their victims and lure them away from the safety of their homes. These cyberpredators use information technology to attack and victimize others in a more violent, malevolent, and dangerous way than cyberbullies or cyberstalkers.

Cyberpredators educates teens about the dangers of interacting with strangers online and how they can protect themselves in the digital world. Although most people never experience a deadly, physical threat as a result of their online activity, a handful of terrifying cases in recent years have made it clear that the risk is real. The case of 13-year-old Kacie Woody, who was abducted and killed by a 47-year-old man who had pretended to be a teenager online, and the capture of the first Internet serial killer, John Robinson, illustrate that predators are as much of a danger in the virtual world as they are in the real world.

Chapters and topics include:

• Characteristics of a cyberpredator
• How cyberpredators use technology
• Types of cyberpredators
• Cyberpredators and the law
• Advice for young people.

Specifications

Full-color and black-and-white photographs. Sidebars. Bibliography. Chronology. Endnotes. Further resources. Index.

About the Author(s)

James P. Colt, Ed.D., is the coordinator of school safety and security for the Monroe 1 BOCES school district. He is a former police officer employed by the State University of New York and served as a criminal justice instructor and school community safety specialist at Monroe 1 BOCES. He is also a certified public school teacher and school administrator in New York State and holds master's degrees in criminal justice and educational administration. He earned his doctorate from St. John Fisher College, with a research focus on cyberbullying and cyberoffending. He is the coauthor of Cyber Bullying: Protecting Kids and Adults from Online Bullies and contributing author to the Encyclopedia of CyberCrime. He also serves on the executive committee of the Cyber Safety and Ethics Initiative in western New York.