How to Tell if a Site is Trustworthy
Teens searching for information about sexuality or sexual orientation can be targets for dangerous websites. Some may try to scam you, while others can even be exploitative.
With so many sketchy websites out there, how can you tell the good from the bad? One way is to be familiar with the organization who runs the site. For example, two legitimate organizations running teen sexuality sites are Planned Parenthood and Rutgers University
Planned Parenthood runs the Teenwire website, and Rutgers University runs Sex Etc. You can easily find links to both parent organizations all over their teen sites. This is a good sign!
Another way to tell that a site might not be legit, is if it asks you to do something illegal. One example would be to encourage teens to view pornography, or send in naked pictures of themselves. Since both of these things are against the law if you are under 18, that is a dead giveaway that there is something fishy going on!
Here are some additional tips from Microsoft's website
- The site is referred to you through an e‑mail message from someone you don't know.
- The site offers objectionable content, such as pornography or illegal materials.
- The site makes offers that seem too good to be true, indicating a possible scam or the sale of illegal or pirated products.
- You are lured to the site by a bait and switch scheme, in which the product or service is not what you were expecting.
- You are asked for a credit card as a verification of identity or for personal information that does not seem necessary.
- You are asked to provide a credit card number without proof that the transaction is secure.
Make sure to keep this information in mind when searching online, and chances are you won't run into many problems!
