DETROIT – It's a language teens know, their friends know, even online pedophiles know. Only the parents are in the dark. Children are using acronyms to communicate with online predators and the predators know how to manipulate kids in a game of secrecy that can be very dangerous.
Glenn Clark is with the Cyber Safety Initiative of the Attorney General's office and Tuesday night he'll be giving a special talk and workshop to parents to discuss this secret language and other internet pitfalls. Parents will learn what to look for, as well as valuable hands-on tools to help keep their children safe.
Clark gave Local 4 a glimpse into the world of teens and predators by sharing glossary of acronyms used to keep parents in the dark.
Top 20 must-know lingo:
1. ADR -Address
2. ASL- Age/Sex/Location
3. GYPO - Get Your Pants Off
4. IWSN - I want sex now
5. KFY - Kiss For You
6. KPC - Keeping Parents Clueless
7. LMIRL - Let's meet in real life
8. M OR F- Male or Female
9. MOOS - Member(s) of the opposite sex
10. MOSS or MOTSS - Member(s) of the same sex
11. NALOPKT - Not a lot of people know that
12. NIFOC -Nude in front of computer
13. P911 - Parent alert!
14. PAL - Parents are listening
15. PAW - Parents are watching
16. PIR - Parent in room
17. POS - Parent over shoulder
18. S OR g - Straight or Gay
19. TDTM - Talk dirty to me
20. WYCM - Will you call me?
The stats are shocking. According to the Michigan Attorney General's Office, 69 percent of teens online get unsolicited messages from people they don't know, yet 80 percent of households have no real rules or set boundaries for internet usage.
Gameboys, Paystations, X-boxes, Wii consoles even DSS handheld games give children unfettered access to the internet and more importantly online predators' unfettered access to them.
Learn More:
Clark will walk parents through everything they need to know and even give them hands-on tools to make sure they know how to keep their children safe during a special For Parents Only workshop (FPO ) on Tuesday at the Rochester Hills City Hall Auditorium.
The building is on 1000 Rochester Hills Drive and is just west of S. Livernois Road, off of west Avon Road. The workshop starts at 7 p.m. and all are welcome.