Our youth need our protection!

[Guest guest]

First, let me say many thanks to you Doc, for allowing me to post this to the list!

 

Second, I would like everyone to know that the urls in this are authentic and the article is authentic. I checked them all out myself (at Doc's suggestion--thanks Doc--I would never have thought of doing that myself). This was sent to another email list I am on by the owner/moderator of that list. She has also become a dear friend of mine. Her concerns are definitely valid and action is needed for the protection of our youth! I have passed on everything that she has said, including her response to the article so that you will have a better idea of what is going on. Just the article will not give you a very good idea. What I have done is left out any references to the email list that she is associated with so that I will be in compliance with Doc's rules.

Becky

 

Here is what she says--

> > I am pleading for your help in a cause I am working toward.> > I am working with no one on this .. I am rounding up the troopsbeginning> > tonight> > to try and bring an end to this.> >> > I have written to Dateline and to a Paper that posted an article on the> > topic> > and am asking for your help both in letter writing and in spreading the> > word.> > This problem is nationwide and WILL come to a town near you soon ...> > their site says they are expanding fast.> >> > Please read what I sent to Dateline and then please PLEASE write to AOL> > and TICKETMASTER and encourage them to DROP partnership with thiscompany.> > Also, Please write to Dateline and encouage them to run the story... 1can> > put> > a thousand to flight - 2 can put 10,000 to flight - I need your help!> > OUR YOUTH ARE AT RISK!> >> > WRITE TO AOL @: http://www.aol.com/info/feedback.html> > WRITE TO DATELINE @: dateline > WRITE TO TICKETMASTER @: http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/emailform.htm> >> > Please tell all of your friends. And the more people who USE AOL that> > write to them> > the more effective the plea to them will be.> >> > Thanks for listening.> > Rita> >> > The Loups URL is: http://www.theloup.com> >> > ================clip - what I wrote to Dateline> >> > I am sending you a recent article and my response to it:> > I think you will find this as disheartening as I have.> > PLEASE consider this story for future investigation.> > I beg of you as a mom and a concerned citizen.> >> > This company is nationwide already and expanding locations fast.> > Our youth are at risk and the risk rises daily as they are allowed> > to continue with expansion by sacrificing our kids.> >> >> > http://www.bergen.com/home/theloup200106182.htm is the url to thearticle> > I quote below.> >> >> > Below this article I have posted My Response. PLEASE read my responseas> > it shows> > where this story fails to cover and is incorrect in very serious ways.> >> >> > ================================clip> >> > The Record OnLife Home & Family Article> >> > Teen phone net shocks parents and police> > Monday, June 18, 2001> >> > By NICOLE GAUDIANO> > Staff Writer> >> > When she picked up her telephone extension recently, an Englewood woman> > heard something that shocked her: A man who called himself "Dynasty" was> > telling her 11-year-old daughter how to perform a sex act on herself.> >> > The girl had met Dynasty on a telephone chat line for teenagers, onethat> > is attracting increasing attention from the police.> >> > Known as The Loup, the toll-free chat line is advertised for teen use> only,> > offering 13- to 18-year-olds voice mail and news, including information> > about local events and new music, along with movie reviews, fashion> > updates, and contests.> >> > Company officials at VoiceWeb/The Loup in Santa Monica, Calif., say the> > telephone network is safe and secure. But police, after years of warning> > parents about the dangers of the Internet, worry that The Loup offers> > another anonymous avenue for those inclined to prey on children.> >> > "The time I listened to it, I heard profanity. I heard sexual comments,"> > said Englewood police Detective Sgt. Anthony Cureton. "It's kind of likea> > gateway to other things."> >> > In Mesa, Ariz., missing persons investigators have spent the past yearand> > a half looking for close to 100 teenage runaways -- including many young> > girls -- who they said used The Loup.> >> > "I've been in this area eight months. I've had 16 cases, and I just got> > another one today that's Loup-related," said Sharla Clark, aninvestigator> > with the Mesa Police Department. "There's a few cases where they neverhad> > a thought of running and [then] they get on The Loup. It's a shame that> all> > the kids know about it and the parents don't."> >> > Since its 1999 inception, more than 700,000 users have registered in the> > system's five markets: New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and> > Seattle.> >> > The chat-line operators consider the service safer for teenagers thanits> > online counterparts. Rather than the Internet's typed instant messages,> > "Loupsters" exchange voice-recorded messages via telephone. There is no> > live conversation.> >> > Instant messaging on the Internet is anonymous, but company officialssay> > the telephone offers safeguards because teenagers can recognize anadult's> > voice. Moreover, a recording on the service tells callers that offensive> > messages should be forwarded to The Loup monitor to be dealt with.> >> > "We have a strict code of conduct that we enforce," said Nancy Lamb,vice> > president in charge of marketing for VoiceWeb/The Loup. "We do not> tolerate> > adults on the system. We do not tolerate directed hatred, excessive> > profanity."> >> > Police nonetheless are warning parents.> >> > "It can be a starting ground for pedophiles," Cureton said.> >> > Posing as a 13-year-old, Cureton easily registered for a Loup accountand> > password recently by calling the toll-free 800 number and typing answers> on> > the telephone keypad to several recorded questions: Gender? Grade? ZIP> > Code? Phone number?> >> > Tapping his way into a chat room, Cureton found an unsavory sampling of> > taped messages.> >> > "Come over here. Let me see your mouth open," said a male Loupster,before> > making a zipping noise.> >> > The message of a female Loupster: "Do you want to know me, pretty young> > thing?"> >> > Phil Viardo, a Loup publicist, said talk about relationships is commonon> > the system simply because its users are teenagers.> >> > "There is sexual talk, but that's what teenagers talk about," he said.> > "It's a question on the kids' minds. They're growing up."> >> > Company monitors visit the chat rooms daily, checking for violations of> > rules of conduct or adult voices, company officials said. Users are> > regularly deactivated for such reasons, they said.> >> > For additional safety, a recording provides advice throughout thesession,> > instructing users not to give out their phone numbers and to obtain> > parental permission before participating.> >> > Moreover, Viardo said, "The kids have their own safeguard system because> > they don't want anyone who's not a teen on there."> >> > Although they advertise on the radio and billboards, company officials> > estimate that about 75 percent of users learn about The Loup by word of> > mouth.> >> > In Arizona, where The Loup was launched in September 1999, trouble for> > missing persons detectives began when youngsters began hearing the radio> > advertising, Clark said.> >> > "A girl said, 'We would be at school, and we'd hear it constantly,' "> Clark> > said. "They'd be at school and they'd be calling The Loup."> >> > Most of the runaways were girls who met older men by leaving messages on> > the network, Clark said. Detectives said none of the runaways wereinjured> > and all have returned home.> >> > The girls told Clark during interviews that many of the men they met> > through The Loup were in their mid-20s and older.> >> > "Just because the guys say they're 16 or 17 doesn't mean they are,"Clark> > said.> >> > The police couldn't produce enough evidence to arrest anyone, she added.> >> > Therein lies some of their frustration, investigators say.> >> > Parents in the Phoenix area were so troubled by the chat line that state> > authorities investigated. They found that the company wasn't breakingany> > laws.> >> > "There was nothing that we could do," said Pati Urias, a spokeswoman for> > the Arizona Attorney General's Office.> >> > Finding violators is tricky, especially when users go by various> nicknames.> > But since the problems began, the company has been monitoring the system> > more aggressively, leading to a drop in cases, Clark said.> >> > "They're trying to make it harder to give out addresses and phone> numbers,"> > she said.> >> > In the Englewood case, Cureton is running into similar problems --several> > Dynastys on the system. The girl's mother believesw that the telphone> > conversation she heard was live and not a recording. His investigationis> > continuing.> >> > Boasting partnerships with Ticketmaster and AOL Moviefone, The Loup> reaches> > a fast-growing market segment.> >> > Today's teenage population is 31 million, and research shows they spend> > $153 billion a year -- much of it on clothing and entertainment. As a> > result, The Loup attracts advertising from record labels, apparel> > companies, and television studios. In turn, it offers the service toteens> > free of charge.> >> > The network also features peer counselors in chat rooms several times a> > month to discuss personal topics. Trained teenage monitors are available> > for anonymous peer-to-peer crisis counseling and first-stage crisis> > intervention and referrals.> >> > In Seattle this year, teenagers used The Loup to alert friends to their> > conditions after an earthquake knocked out many local phone lines.> >> > "It's a great source for information for these kids when they sometimes> > don't know where to get it," Viardo said.> >> > A spokesman for the FBI in New Jersey said agents haven't received> > complaints of any federal violations by the company. Locally, police in> > several departments said they hadn't heard of the chat line, which began> > operating in New York City in November 2000.> >> > In Englewood, however, a cleric said he intended to speak to his> > congregation about it.> >> > "If the Internet can be used by pedophiles to develop relationships and> set> > up meetings with young people, I certainly think with this system, the> same> > thing can happen," said the Rev. John Spencer, pastor of the FirstBaptist> > Church.> >> > Authorities echo the warnings of Loup officials, telling youngsters notto> > give out any personal information and not to arrange to meet strangers.> > Meanwhile, police are urging parents to monitor how their children use> > their telephone time.> >> > "It can be very serious, especially if your little girl is talking tosome> > 43-year-old guy," Clark said. "You just never know."> >> >> >>> --------> --> > ----> >> > Staff Writer Nicole Gaudiano's e-mail address isgaudianon >> > ================================end clip> >> >> >> > ================================clip (my letter to Staff Writer Nicole> > Gaudiano) below:> >> > Date of Article: Monday, June 18, 2001> >> > Your article concerning "The Loup" Teen chat line.> >> > I read your article.> >> > We live near Seattle, WA and my 16 y/o has been lured into the Loup as> many> > of her friends have.> >> > They claim all conversation is taped and no live conversation goeson?????> > Bologna!!!!! My daughter> > calls there to hook up with her friends from our previous home that are> > long distance and they do one> > on one every day !!!! I have now told them - NO MORE. I would ratherbuy> > long distance cards for them.> >> > My daughter has also been lured by older guys that are in their 20's ...> > made arrangements to meet one> > and I got wind of it and called his home .. his mother arranged to meetme> > where they were to meet.> > When she heard my daughter was a teen and where they had met (shethought> I> > was a cop because> > of how i spoke when I called her she said) She said I TOLD YOU THAT YOU> > WERE GOING TO GET> > INTO TROUBLE AND END UP IN JAIL!!! ... seems this guy has lured teensmany> > times. He was 26> > I believe and had told my daughter he was 17. He had told his motherthat> > my daughter was 19, she> > was 16 and he knew it. (He told my daughter that he loved her and had> > bought her diamonds etc.> > to lure her ... I cannot believe she fell for it, but she did.)> >> > My daughters friend met a guy off the Loup and I am told he held her> > captive for three days and she> > was repeatedly raped.... that is not lining up with what your officials> > have told you, of no injuries.> > There was a police file reported in my daughters friends case becausethe> > police called my home> > to talk to me in regards to the whole issue when she came up missing.> >> > Also .. they ARE breaking laws, because the teen *or non teen* has to> agree> > to their user agreement> > policy - thereby entering a teen into a "contract" which is ILLEGAL> without> > parental consent and at no> > time have I consented to my daughter being on there.> >> > I went on there, to test their little system and was granted full access> > and did not change my voice to> > sound like a teen ... NO actions were taken against my account. What I> > found was a live chat place> > that was a birthing house for pedophiles and further corruption of aminor> > .. AND when I tried to find> > someone in customer service - to talk to in regards to my concerns and> find> > out who this company> > was ... there was NOWHERE on that line for me to find someone to talkto.> >> > I think with petitions, calling Dateline, writing to congressmen and> > senators in the areas that has the> > company ... along with the FBI .. this can be shut down ... TOO manyteen> > lives at stake. 100 runaways> > all connected to one system??? WAKE UP PEOPLE !!!!!!! ( I am surethere> > are many more "cases"> > unreported because so many parents don't even know they are talking on> "the> > Loup")> >> > Sheesh, I don't get it sometimes .. "We have no proof of wrongdoing"????> > THEN you did NOT look hard enough!> > or else they KNEW you were coming. I have found plenty!!!!> >> > Concerned Parent in WA> >> >> > ================================end clip> >> >> >> >> >> >> > ______________________> > ______________________> >> > This is another post from my friend to let us know of another online group that is associated with the Loup--> > I Just found out that Amazon.com is ALSO> > affiliated with them in advertising. You can> > contact them to encourage them to drop> > advertising with this company as well by> > cutting and pasting the following url> >> > The Company name again is THE LOUP> >> > (sorry it is so long .. argh .. can also go to> > http://www.amazon.com and click on HELP> > scroll to bottom right where it says STILL> > NEED MORE HELP? click on GENERAL> > QUESTIONS on next page CLICK on EMAIL button)> >> >>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/handle-generic-form/103-8958161-6121414?ac> >>tion=next-page & target=stores/help/self-service-email-form-dispatch.html & disp> > lay=basic & browse=560710 & method=GET & cgi-post-result=1/103-8958161-6121414> >> > Thanks guys for all your support and help on this ..> > I am not usually one to jump on the bandwagon> > for this type of this, but I have had first hand> > experience and knowledge with this company> > and if we sit by and let things pass ... we cannot> > blame society for ruining our kid's generation.> >> > Rita> >> >> >> >>I don't have teenagers myself, so, my friend's experiences with this group and what has happened to her daughter is what she herself has strictly experienced. However, I contacted the Loup myself to see how to sign up. Their sign up process makes it too easy to lie about your phone number and your age. Because it is so easy to lie about your personal information, it definitely raises concerns and worries for me as a parent as to how safe the Loup actually is. I have contacted Dateline myself in support of my friend. I certainly hope that Dateline will run a story on the Loup! Our youth need it!

 

Becky