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Momo challenge: Police advise over 'freaky game' 
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Momo may be creepy, but police believe it is clear it is being used by hackers to harvest information.

Officers in Northern Ireland moved to reassure parents about the doll figure with bulging eyes and a creepy grin.

Momo targets young children on social media.

The doll encourages them to add a contact on messaging service WhatsApp, then hounds them with violent images and dares.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-47359623

The final dare being killing yourself, apparently.

I asked my wife if they had heard of this at her school, and they had (actually she finished my sentence when I started “Have you heard about the latest...”). In fact she wanted to tell me what I should do if I hear children talking about it. I had to raise two child protection issues last year because of what’s been said in Code Club. Kids are less on guard in that kind of situation, and I’ve been told that being male in a school where it’s mostly all women, I may get told things that they won’t be. Basically, I mustn’t mention it at all, and if someone talks about it to go straight to the head teacher and tell her. She’ll then take over and deal with it.

Anyway, if you have contact with kids, then be aware of this doing the rounds. Warn the parents. Not enough people are monitoring what their children are up to online.

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Wed Feb 27, 2019 8:55 pm
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Modern tech has made it easier to access more information, different opinions and voices, but it also has made it easier to contact others. Certainly, when I was a kid, we were taught to say "no" to strangers, to not accept sweets or bribes, and not to get into a stranger's vehicle. That we should run away and report the event to an adult.

I remember a few years back seeing kids who were self-harming because it was the "cool" thing to do. It meant you were part of a group. Most of these kids did it just to fit in. Some did it because they were genuinely depressed.

Sad to see things are worse. I've read about youtube videos of Peppa Pig having violent or sexual images spliced into them. And it's all too easy to plonk a child on the floor, give them an tablet with a video loaded and leave them. I've seen parents do this in consultations just to keep the child busy. As kids, we were sometimes plonked in front of the TV but at least that was regulated and you wouldn't get inappropriate viewing material aired during daytime TV.

Very sad to hear about kids being encouraged to commit self-harm or suicide because of stupid things like this.

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Thu Feb 28, 2019 7:39 am
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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/28/viral-momo-challenge-is-a-malicious-hoax-say-charities

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Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:32 pm
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Yeah - seeing a few stories in this vein this morning. Not going to stop schools issuing warnings - indeed most will have reacted already based on what information was available earlier this week.

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brataccas wrote:
your posts are just combo chains of funny win

I’m on Twitter, tweeting away... My Photos Random Avatar Explanation


Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:09 pm
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