ADVICE ABOUT CYBERBULLYING/INTERNET SAFETY FROM
MR. CHUCK FAVATA-INTERNET SAFETY EXPERT
Mr. Chuck Favata has been a teacher in the Council Rock School District for many years. He is considered to be an expert on the topic of internet safety and has traveled to many schools giving presentations to pre-teen and teenage students and their parents on this subject. Mr. Favata will be presenting information to the 6th grade students at Holland Elementary in October, 2006.
If You Are The Victim of a Cyberbully What Can Be Done Now?:
Don't reply to messages from cyberbullies -even though you may really want to, this is exactly what cyberbullies want. They want to know that they've got you worried and upset. They are trying to mess with your mind and control you, to put fear into you. Don't give them that pleasure.
Do not keep this to yourself! You are NOT alone and you did NOT do anything to deserve this! Tell an adult you know and trust!
Inform your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or cell phone/pager service provider (see the list of Canadian service providers and their contact information that can be found at on the "Related Resources" page on www.cyberbullying.ca).
Inform your local police
Do not erase or delete messages from cyberbullies -You don't have to read it, but keep it, it is your evidence. You may unfortunately get similar messages again, perhaps from other accounts. The police and your ISP, and/or your telephone company can use these messages to help you. You might notice certain words or phrases that are also used by people you know. These messages may reveal certain clues as to who is doing this to you, but don't try and solve this on your own, remember, tell an adult you know and trust. GET HELP!
Protect yourself -Never arrange to meet with someone you met online unless your parents go with you. If you are meeting them make sure it is in a public place.
You may need to delete your current e-mail accounts, cell phone/pager accounts and set up new ones. I am working with the Canadian Telecommunications Service Providers to support you in making such changes at no cost to you. If your cyberbullying problems persist, I would recommend that you do this as soon as possible, unless you are working with the police and your Telecommunications Provider to keep the account(s) active to try and catch the cyber bully
If you are more technically inclined, you can do a little cyber-sleuthing of your own to provide the police and your Telecommunications Provider with more information, but NEVER try and meet someone personally who you suspect might be the cyber-bully This is best left in the hands of the legal authorities.
If you receive and unsolicited harassing e-mail message from a cyber-bully, you can often use your mouse to right-click on the header of the offending message and choose the "Options" section of the menu. This will often reveal greater details about the message, such as:
Return-Path:
Received: from [218.242.20.53] by ns1.netizenship.org (NTMail 5.06.0016/LC0008.00.11c4cb1f) with ESMTP id eahnhaaa for needhelp@cyberbullying.org; Thu, 13 Mar 2003 10:58:30 -0700
Received: from oc.xqna.org [158.148.129.96] by 207.228.118.41 id IGj585W6h0WK for
Thu, 13 Mar 2003 23:58:15 +0600
Message-ID:
From: ""
To:
Subject:: I Hate You!
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 03 23:58:15 GMT
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority:
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.2616
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="CB8ECC1D.E.F3ED22__.91"
You can then look at the root-domain of the sender, which in this case is the fictitious "cyberbully.hurt". You can then go to do a "WHOIS"search with a domain name registration company such as CIRAif the last two letters of the cyberbullies e-mail address end in .ca (this means it is a Canadian domain name and was registered in
The "WHOIS" search will often provide information as to who owns the domain name, and their contact information. Share this information with your local police and your telecommunications or Internet service provider.
You can also use software to help protect and/or find out who is sending you harassing messages. www.cyberbullying.caDOES NOT OFFICIALLY ENDORSE the products::
If you are receiving harassing messages from cyber bullies through Web-based mail services like Hotmail, Yahoo Mail etc., it becomes very difficult to trace such accounts as cyber-bully@hotmail.com. You may have to delete your current e-mail account and start a new one. Tell only a select few people you trust about your new e-mail account when, and if you choose to reestablish one.
If you are receiving harassing messages from cyber bullies through Instant Messaging (IM) software such as ICQ, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger etc. such programs usually have a "Block", "Ignore" or "Ban" feature. Use this feature to try and "Block", "Ignore or "Ban" the cyber bullies
If you are the victim of a cyber bully who has set up and Web site that is defaming, or mocking you, contact the Internet Service Provider and inform them about what is happening, also inform the police. Use the "WHOIS" search tool to help you in the manner describe above.
If this is a large Web hosting company, it may take a long time to get a response and a promise of action. ISPs are often very reluctant to act in such cases. Unfortunately, some people have only received a response, or seen such cyberbullying Web sites taken down after the threat of legal action. www.cyberbullying.cais trying to work with the Canadian telecommunications Industry to act in a more responsive, proactive way.
Are You Aware of, or Are You Supporting Someone Who Is the Victim of cyberbullying?
The best defense against cyberbullying for now is a watchful, involved parent, guardian, family member or friend.
How do you know if someone is being cyberbullied? Here are some signs to look out for:
