|
|
Photo Courtesy www.aftab.com
Noted expert on Internet privacy, attorney Parry Aftab of New York, will speak locally in early March. |
|
|
Myspace.com scare affects local family
Police plan public session with national expert on Internet security
By Mary Ann Bragg
Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN — An incident at an ice skating rink in Orleans last fall, in which a male stranger approached a young woman he first learned about on the Internet website myspace.com, has shaken a local family who knows the young woman.
In response to that incident and others, local police are planning a public workshop in early March with noted Internet privacy expert, Parry Aftab of New York.
Resident Michelle Jarusiewicz, who is Provincetown’s acting assistant Town Manager, said this week that her husband and her 15-year old son were present at the Charles Moore ice skating arena when the stranger approached the young woman, who was a former girlfriend of Jarusiewicz’s son.
Orleans detective Kevin Higgins said this week that the mother of the young woman called police to the skating arena where the man was then questioned and released. No charges were filed, Higgins said, because no crime was committed. “Apparently he had attempted to speak with the young lady there, and the mother overheard it,” Higgins said. “No crime had occurred. It made us aware that there is the potential for a lot of information being garnered from these websites…The kids don’t understand the ramifications. They think they’re speaking with their friends but they make it easy for the predators to find them and converse with them.”
Jarusiewicz said that coincidentally she and her husband had been talking in previous weeks with their son and 13-year-old daughter about the dangers of putting what may seem like innocuous personal information on the Internet.
At about that time, Jarusiewicz said she had received a call from local police that her daughter’s photograph and personal information were available on myspace.com, a website that serves as sort of a social hub for young adults. “It was a nice picture,” Jarusiewicz said. “But we had this whole conversation about how there is nothing wrong with the website but how it is used. A little bit of information here…a little bit of information there. The people who are predators can find out a lot.”
In a review of the myspace.com website in September, local police had found 30 entries of teenagers and young adults in the town’s 02657 zip code. At that time, Police Staff Sgt. Warren Tobias and police youth officer Marty Menangas contacted local parents including Jarusiewicz, who said she was unaware of her daughter’s entry on the website.
Tobias said this week that local police will host a workshop in early March with noted expert on Internet privacy, attorney Parry Atfab of New York. Atfab has appeared nationally in print and on television.
This week, Truro Police detective Kyle Takakjian said that his department is planning more Internet security awareness campaigns as well, following a workshop held at Truro Central School late last year. “They may take a ride to that town, and they will sit and watch common places where children may go, such as a school, a playground or a skateboard park,” Takakjian said of adults armed with information about children from Internet sites.
“They will wait until they see one of those kids that they have some information on. They just strike up a conversation and then one things leads to another.”
mabragg@provincetownbanner.com
|
New tax on Whydah wharf draws lawsuit against town
In the News
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 9th, 2006