Virtual worlds like Webkinz and Neopets have pretty good safeguards to prevent adults from saying or doing inappropriate things with children. But who’s helping children when other children are the cause of the problem?
There’s a great write up in the Mercury News today about bullying, cheating, and stealing that goes on behind the scenes at your favourite virtual playground — just like Webkinz — and it details how kids have gotten their entire accounts emptied out.
How?
By sharing their passwords after all kinds of things have been promised to them, such as a complete “avatar makeover”. As the articles goes on to say, however, it does provide a somewhat useful lesson in making sure your kids are appropriately cautious when meeting new people, and of course — making sure you never, ever hand out your password to anyone.
See also:
- How one young girl met with a real-world bully, who bullied her Webkinz password out of her, and soon after $31 000 of KinzCash
- Kids stealing passwords from each other on the playground, apparently, happens much more than you’d think
- Webkinz have been banned at one school for violating anti-bullying policies
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1 Webkinz Stolen From Oakland Area Store | Webkinz Center // Jul 13, 2008 at 9:16 am
[...] World, as kids who are a little too trusting are often the receiving end of bullies who end up stealing their passwords and all of their loot … well, its not that uncommon, it [...]
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