Complaint resolution service publishes case studies, recall information and consumer news.

Almost every child in America between the ages of 4 and 12 participate in Halloween activities, says the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  The non-profit agency reports that 94 percent of children between those ages will trick-or-treat, attend parties or otherwise be involved during the holiday, which falls this year on a Friday.  The group released a list of tips today to help parents keep their children safe during the festivities.

Halloween Safety Tips - 10 Ways Parents Can Keep Children Safe

1. CHOOSE bright, flame-retardant costumes or add reflective tape to costumes and candy bags so children are easily seen in the dark.  Carry a glow stick or flashlight too.
2. PLAN a trick-or-treating route in familiar neighborhoods with well-lit streets.
3. NEVER send young children out alone. They should always be accompanied by a parent or another trusted adult. Older children should also travel in groups.
4. ALWAYS walk younger children to a house’s door while they are trick-or-treating.  Do not let them enter a home unless you are with them.
5. BE SURE children do not approach any vehicle, occupied or not, unless you are with them.
6. REVIEW basic pedestrian safety rules that children should use when walking to and from houses.  Even familiar routes look different at night, especially to young eyes.
7. CONSIDER organizing a home or community party as an alternative to “trick-or-treating.”
8. MAKE sure children know their home phone number and address in case you get separated. Teach children how to call 911 in an emergency.
9. TEACH children to say “NO!” or “This is not my mother/father” in a loud voice if someone tries to get them to go somewhere, accept anything other than a treat or leave with them.  Also teach them that they should make every effort to get away by kicking, screaming and resisting.
10. REMIND children to remain alert and report suspicious incidents to parents and/or law enforcement

The non-profit NCMEC has assisted law enforcement in recovering more than 120,000 children and takes a proactive role such as publishing these Halloween safety tips.  There was no word on how to protect children (or adult!) teeth from stale candy corn.

Posted under Safety

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has offered parents a wonderful opportunity by making its Kidz Smart DVD available for free.

The non-profit’s site features a quote from Bryan Cranston, the father on the TV show Malcolm in the Middle, who says, “I believe in this cause so much, I made this DVD with my own money. I hope it helps you and your children stay safe in a world that seems to be growing more dangerous every day.”

Consumer Help Web has always supported this amazing organization’s work, and we urge all parents to watch this video with their children and help keep them safe.

Consumers can order the DVD by clicking this link. And when you’re done, why not pass the video along to another family so the word can continue to spread?

Posted under Products, Safety

The debut of the first-ever U.S.-based Victim Identification Lab, created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), has already generated more than 560 leads in the effort to identify child victims of pornography. Launched in Dallas, Texas at the Crimes Against Children Conference August 21-25, the Victim Identification Lab allowed select conference attendees, representatives from law-enforcement and prosecutors from around the world, to contribute to the efforts of NCMEC to identify child victims seen in sexually abusive images.

During the week, 540 registered users visited the lab 778 times, viewed “sanitized” images and posted information that generated over 560 leads. As a result, jurisdictions have been identified for five children and in one case, the identity of a previously unknown child victim was determined.

“The collaborative effort of law enforcement and prosecutors involved in the Victim Identification Lab has proven that by working together we can identify clues needed to find these children and stop future exploitation and abuse,” said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC. “This was the first step in an ongoing aggressive initiative that taps national and international resources to identify and rescue child victims.”

Partnering with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces, NCMEC’s Child Victim Identification Program (CVIP), which serves as the national clearinghouse for child pornography cases and the main point of contact to international agencies for victim identification, worked in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service to bring the Lab to the conference and staff over 42 hours of operation.

Participants included law-enforcement officials and prosecutors from 48 states and 11 countries. Participants viewed 50 files with the graphic material removed, both photographs and videos, showing background identifiers, audio clues, children’s faces and suspects’ faces. The Lab featured 30 individual workstations, donated by the ICAC Task Forces, with real-time message posting of comments and suggestions that could be viewed by everyone in the Lab.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Assistant Attorney General Regina B. Schofield toured the lab and received a demonstration of its capabilities on opening day. Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative aimed at preventing the online exploitation and abuse of children, was announced by Attorney General Gonzales in May.

All information submitted by Lab users will be compiled and analyzed by NCMEC. The information will then be distributed to the appropriate law-enforcement agency for investigation.

Posted under Privacy, Safety

Eighteen of the world’s most prominent financial institutions and Internet industry leaders have joined with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), and its sister organization, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) in the fight against Internet child pornography. The goal is to eradicate commercial child pornography by 2008.

The new Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography includes leading banks, credit card companies, third party payment companies and Internet services companies. Founding members of the Coalition include America Online, American Express Company, Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, Discover Financial Services LLC, e-gold, First Data Corporation, First National Bank of Omaha, MasterCard, Microsoft, North American Bancard, PayPal, First PREMIER Bank/PREMIER Bankcard, Standard Chartered Bank, Visa, Wells Fargo, and Yahoo! Inc.

The Coalition will work in collaboration with Child Focus of Belgium, the European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE), the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and law firm DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary.

Child pornography has become a multi-billion dollar commercial enterprise and is among the fastest growing businesses on the Internet. The Internet has enabled instant access to child pornography by thousands and possibly millions of individuals around the world. And the ability to use credit cards and other payment methods has made purchasing child pornography easy.
Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-AL), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, was the catalyst in bringing these industry leaders together to address the problem. In challenging them to join with NCMEC and ICMEC in this effort, Senator Shelby said, “If people were purchasing heroin or cocaine and using their credit cards, we would be outraged and would do something about it. This is worse.”

The exact number of child pornography web sites is difficult to determine. In 2001, the CyberTipline operated by NCMEC had received more than 24,400 reports of child pornography. By the beginning of 2006, that number had climbed to more than 340,000.
“Not only have we seen an increase in reports of Internet child pornography, but the victims are becoming younger and the images are becoming more graphic and violent,” said Ernie Allen, President and CEO of NCMEC and ICMEC, and Chairman of the Coalition. “To eliminate the commercial viability of child pornography, we must stop the flow of money. To do that, we need the involvement of the world’s leaders in the payments industry and the Internet. The founding members of the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography are to be commended for joining this critical fight.”

If members of the public have knowledge of a child pornography web site they are encouraged to report it immediately to the CyberTipline managed by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (www.cybertipline.com or 1-800-843-5678). Citizens outside the United States can call the CyberTipline or can contact any number of hotlines around the world. To learn more about these hotlines, visit the website of the International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) at www.inhope.org.

Posted under Safety