I know we’ve focused a lot on teen sexting lately, here on the Neighborhood Crime Map, but a recent commercial, aired during the super bowl last weekend, seemed to stir up the waters again. You know how we feel about teen sexting, but what do you think about this commercial? Do you think it could encourage young people to “sext”? Could it be potentially damaging? Or, is it just a harmless, funny commercial? Watch the video embedded below and leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Disaster Aid Scams are constantly used by enterprising crooks to make themselves and their key employees extremely wealthy. I’ve worked for telemarketing companies who have scammed and skimmed millions from the bank accounts and credit cards of people in need.
What’s considered a disaster? The dictionary defines a disaster as a catastrophic event causing great loss of life, damage, hardship and business failure. The earthquake in Haiti and hurricane Katrina in New Orleans are the more publicized disasters affecting large amounts of people at one time and open the door for disaster aid scams to operate.
The New York Times just ran a story about a young woman named Amy (name changed). When she was a little girl, her uncle sexually abused her and took explicit pictures of her. Although Amy’s uncle is now in jail for his crimes, those pictures have been circulating on the internet for 10 years and are regularly found in the collections of individuals charged with possession of child pornography.
Every time her pictures are found in a child pornography bust, she is notified. Over the past 5 years she has been notified over 800 times. To put it in perspective, that number amounts to a notification approximately every 2-3 days.
In Lacey, Wash., A 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy are being charged with distributing child pornography, and—if convicted—will be required to register as sex offenders. The Seattle Times reports that the boy was engaged in a relationship with another 14-year-old girl, during which he obtained an explicit picture of her. After the two broke up, the boy sent the picture to the 13-year-old girl, who then distributed it to other classmates.
About 200 days a year, kids get up in the morning and head to school. They spend 6-8 hours at school, and then turn toward home, or to other activities. Schools themselves tend to be safe places. Stress, bullying, rough-housing, and some other social issues can erupt but are typically well-managed by school administrators and families.
The area immediately around schools is often considered safe. Some states have created ‘Community Protection Zones’ around schools, which prohibit certain categories of sex offenders from residing within a specific distance of schools. Other laws prohibit weapons on public property within a certain distance of schools and provide for harsher penalties for drug crimes near schools. Those laws serve as public statements that we want our children protected from predators and criminals, but they do little to dissuade predators and criminals from attempting to harm children.
Disaster Aid Scams are constantly used by enterprising crooks to make themselves and their key employees extremely wealthy. I’ve worked for telemarketing companies who have scammed and skimmed millions from the bank accounts and credit cards of people in need.
