keeping yourself and others safe - bbc ·...

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Keeping yourself and others safe

Protecting your own safety and privacyGiving out personal information over the internet creates its own considerations, as details you give out online can have ramifications in the real world. The possibility for anonymity online means that the person you are chatting with online could be nearer than you think - so don’t go telling strangers where you live or broadcasting when you’ll be out of the house! Untick the ‘show my location’ option.


Protecting personal informationThere are a few things that you will very rarely be asked for online, so you should be very protective of them just as you would be in the offline world. Your national insurance, bank account and passport numbers are only ever going to be used in very specific circumstances, so if you receive unsolicited communication asking for them, or if you’re directed to an unsecure website asking for them, it’s likely to be bad news. Delete the harmful email.

Checking on others’ online identityIf someone gets in contact that you don’t recognise they may be genuine, and there are various resources you can use to corroborate someone’s identity. Often a simple web search will give you an idea; there are online directories, such as 123.com, and professional networks, such as LinkedIn, that have more details of someone’s credentials. If people are making friend requests on social networks, then checking that you have mutual friends is often a good way to recognise someone you may know. Click the correct Sarah Jones from the connections listed.


Most people will, rightly, accept a friend request on a social network site from someone they know; especially if they recognise their photo. It’s important to be aware, however, that some people use profile pictures of their pets, places, or even random objects, instead of a photo of themselves. If you don’t recognise someone’s picture but do know the name then check for mutual friends.


CyberbullyingCyberbullying is when people hide behind the anonymity of the internet to give grief to other users by bombarding them with unwanted messages or verbal abuse. The best way to deal with the threat of cyberbullying is to not engage with the sort of people who might do it, ignore their attacks if they make them, and report them if you can. On moderated forums there will be administrators who keep a look out for bad behaviour, on anonymous sites this may not happen so you need to be more proactive. Click the ‘block user button’ to stop seeing the messages from the unpleasant user.

Reporting safety issues and where to get helpIf you think there has been a breach of your safety, then you can get in contact with your Internet Service Provider who can deal with the technical side of things, or if you have a complaint about a user on a particular site that you can’t deal with yourself, you have every right to get in contact with the provider of that site to take it further. You can get lots more information on all aspects of internet safety from Ofcom and BBC WebWise.


Why not try the practice to test what you have learnt so far.

keeping yourself and others safe - bbc ·...

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