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Fake profiles and anonymous screen names are used in 65 percent of cyberbully attacks,

she went to a mental-health clinic

assuming that if they haven’t received a death threat or had a picture of their face posted on a naked body on the Internet, they haven’t been bullied.

They think that’s just part of online life,

Aftab said she knows of three other teens who have committed suicide after cyberbullying attacks, and that the problem is on the rise.

Cyberbullying peaks in 4th and 7th grade

4th graders are especially into blackmail and threatening to tell friends, parents or teachers if the victim doesn’t cooperate.

The most outrageous recent way is through theft of a cell phone for a few minutes," Aftab said. "If your kids leave their cell phone unattended or accessible in their backpack, the cyberbully will take it and send a bunch of bad text messages or reprogram it.”

“This whole password thing freaks people out ... but a good password doesn’t have to be hard to remember, just hard to guess,” Criddle said. “Friends don’t ask friends for passwords.

October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month,

1) What must parents know about the realities of the Internet in regards to how we deal with the photos (and identities) of our children? 2) What are the benefits of an open vs. a closed reality? Are the benefits of openness (e.g., in regards to our families) worth the risks? And, what are the credible risks? 3) What precautions should we take, or perhaps, what precautions do you take in the presentation/development of your family’s digital identity? 4) What rights and responsibilities do we have as parents to protect the digital identities of our children? 5) How do we proceed from here? How do we help other parents to understand these important issues?