Last year the FBI and local police investigated almost 800 cases where sexual predators not only found children online, they then tried to arrange a meeting. In fact, it's possible the survey understates the threat to children because, the survey says, most children don't tell when they've been approached. They are afraid their parents will overreact, afraid the parents will pull the plug and take the privileges away. Allen said there is a false sense of security for parents, who feel that as long as their children are on-line they are doing something positive and constructive. The report urges parents to learn more about the software that, in some cases, can block pornography from reaching a child's email.
Kids also get sex spam daily.
What is missing from the media conversation, hell what is critical to understand, is that this is a limited problem. Not in scope. It's a problem with a wide scope. AOL is a breeding ground for sexual predators. You can chat with ICQ or IRC, but it's not the same.