Parents so frequently say “my kid wouldn’t even know how to commit a _(fill in the blank_) crime” that it’s time once again to help educate adults on the Internet-and-crime-connection.

It used to be that the best training ground and recruitment site for young criminals was a stint in juvenile detention. Now criminal recruiting, knowledge transfer and training are learned wherever Internet access is available.

Most of the focus on Internet crime relates to crimes occurring online like ID theft, cyber-harassment, or sexual stalkers who find victims online. However, attention also needs to be directed on the cadre of young gang- and criminal- wannabes learning their skills online to commit offline crimes.

The rise in gang membership is directly related to the increased use of social networking sites for gang recruiting. These gangs typically target middle school – and even younger – children.

• Counteracting gang recruitment tactics requires open discussions in homes and schools about understanding propaganda in the virtual world and the glamorization of violence. For younger children, leveraging filtering tools is important to block this form of contact and content. Do not wait for children to become teens before discussing this, you need to have the conversation and teach youth the skills to recognize the propaganda before they are approached online.

The use of the Internet as a crime academy continues to expand. Type in the phrase ‘how to cook meth’ and Google returns over 1.25 million results, with a disturbing number of these actually teaching kids what it takes. The listed websites go range from step-by-step guides, to full YouTube demonstration Videos. Searching on ‘lock bumping’ – the term means to open a lock without the proper key – returns over 4 million results with the requisite photos and video demonstrations.

Another large temptation for minors is in creating, or buying, Fake ID cards online. A couple of examples include the website Make Your Own Fake ID’s, that offers free fake ID templates for download, and the article on Wikihow titled How to make a fake ID and begins their instructions by saying ‘These instructions are for making a fake ID suitable for getting into clubs or bars….

• Teens are well aware of the access they have to criminal instructional guides online. Parents and teachers who choose to avoid this reality do so at youth’s peril. It is far better to have candid and ongoing conversations about any temptation to leverage the Internet for criminal behavior, and the inappropriateness of a wide variety of online content.

Pocket change used to come from allowances and part time jobs. Now some teens make their money – legitimately or illegitimately – online. Many sites enable online revenue streams and parents have little to no oversight, or even understanding, of where the money comes from.

Making money online can be a great source of revenue for teens and college students because online work typically allows the flexibility of hours students need – they work when it fits their schedule. However, there are a concerning number of ways to earn money illegally online either by exploiting themselves or by exploiting others.

Some earn money by creating virtual products like digital clothing, accessories and home furnishings that can fetch a good price on sites like SecondLife. These items may be entirely tasteful, or graphically explicit. Some teens spend hours in their room at night ‘performing live’ through their webcam in exchange for goods or money – usually transferred through an account like PayPal. Others engage in a variety of online fraud tactics ranging from spam and phishing, to financially motivated hacking, and running botnets.

• Know where your teen’s money comes from. If they seem to have more money than their allowance or part time job affords start asking some tough questions. Watch for ‘gifts’ arriving or new clothes, jewelry, gadgets, etc. Gifts may be delivered to your home - particularly if your teen is the first one home and can presort the mail - but are also frequently delivered to a friend’s home to avoid your attention. Discuss online revenue streams, ethics and honesty then decide together whether earning money online makes sense for your teen.

You have heard it before, but there is no substitute for active, positive, parenting. Your three strengths when talking to your kids are 1) your life’s experience and the example you set, 2) the open conversations you have to prepare them to accurately identify scams and predatory behavior on- and offline, 3) the protective tools you install like family safety settings (often called parental controls), up-to-date anti-virus and spyware products, and leveraging the safety settings of the products and services your child uses online.

Help your child reap the best of the internet by teaching them how and why to avoid the internet’s criminal underbelly.

Linda