Page 10 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, ApRil 18, 2025 VIOLENT ONLINE | FROM PAGE 9 pants in hot weather. Writing in blood or what appears to be blood. Threatening to commit suicide and openly talking about death, not being wanted or needed, or not being around. Idealization of mass shooting or mass casualty events. Family pets or other animals being harmed or dying under suspicious circumstances. Family pets uncharacteristically avoid or are fearful of your child or you. Law enforcement being called to the home under false pretenses (known as swatted or doxxed) by an unknown person. The FBI recommends the public consider the following when sharing content (e.g., photos and videos) or engaging with individuals online: Monitor children’s and other vulnerable individuals’ online activity and discuss risks associated with sharing personal information. Use discretion when posting images, videos, and personal content online, particularly those that include children or their information. For more information on how to protect children and others refer to information on online risks here: Parents, Caregivers, Teachers — FBI. Additional Resources If you are worried about someone who might be self-harming or is at risk of suicide the following resources may help: Consult your pediatrician or other health care provider who can provide an initial evaluation or a referral to a mental health professional. Connecting your child to a mental health resource can help them learn healthy coping skills for intense emotions and help reduce the risk of a serious injury. If it is an immediate, life-threatening emergency dial 9-1-1. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides a free service known as Take It Down, which helps minor victims, even if they are now an adult, remove or stop the online sharing of nude, or sexually explicit online content. For more information, visit https://takeitdown.ncmec.org. If you believe you are the victim of a crime using these tactics, retain all information regarding the incident (e.g., usernames, email addresses, websites or names of platforms used for communication, photos, videos, etc.) and immediately report it to: FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov FBI Field Office (www.fbi. gov/contact-us/field-offices or 1-800-CALL-FBI (2255324)) National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (www. cybertipline.org or 1-800-THE LOST) Reporting these crimes can help law enforcement identify malicious actors and prevent further victimization. 1 Swat also referred to as swatting is the action or practice of making false emergency calls to police or other emergency services in an attempt bring about the dispatch of armed police officers such as a SWAT team to a particular address. ↩ 2 Dox also referred to as doxxing is the action of obtaining and publishing personally identifiable information (PII) on the internet, usually for malicious intent. ↩ 3 Fansigning is writing or cutting specific numbers, letters, symbols, or names onto one’s body.
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