You know that cute 15 year old guy you met online? You know the one. He's been chatting, sending you the cutest messages, you've let him on your msn and you are like the best of friends. So, he sends you a message suggesting it's about time you took your relationship offline and met up.

He sounds so cute, so nice, and why not? Well, have you ever thought that this cute 15 year old could in fact be a 50 year old that lurks in chat rooms, trawling for young girls, grooming them for a meet, and then who knows what? Sound far-fetched? It's so not.

In fact, this is so real that the Australian Federal Police has this year launched a portfolio to tackle this growing problem that is directly linked to our growing online obsession.

Crime Prevention High Tech Crime Operations Federal Agent, Jayne Crossling says: "The biggest issue with teens online is knowing who they are talking to. There's no way of checking who it is you are having that online chat with. So, if your new online friend suggests a meet be very wary. First ask yourself why do you need to meet? And, if you still feel the need to go ahead then make sure you take a friend or an adult for a first meet."

Some members of the Hight Tech Team search chat rooms, sites and go undercover as teens to draw out online sex offenders. They get their inside goss on teen speak and teen online behaviour from a teen who is part of their team.

This teen works with agents to make sure they are using the right language online, providing insight into teen online behaviour and will be working with teens across the world at an upcoming worldwide youth forum in London to present a charter to the United Nations about how best to tackle this growing online menace.

Now, we are not about scaring you off online life - it's fun. It's a space where you can express yourself, meet people, make friends, update the world on your life, share photos and heaps more.

But those fun pics of you and your friends dancing, kissing each other, posing in a very camp, showy and totally not serious way may be a great way to have a laugh, but it can also be a beacon to sex offenders searching for young girls to entrap in a process known as "grooming".

Grooming is when you get an older person posing as a teen boy or even a girl. These sex offenders do their research so that they know how to speak teen. So, as far you are concerned you've just meet the most divine 15 year old hottie online. But, he's no hottie! He's a grown man, tricking you into believing he's a teen boy, becoming a friend, and working towards getting you to meet him. That's grooming.

Good news is that this practice is a federal offence. If any adult is found to be doing this kind of thing with an underage child then they can be charged. High Tech Team members pose as teen girls/boys, chatting to online, working to expose them so they can be caught and charged. Sometimes when the offender encourages a meet offline, it will be with an undercover (very young-looking officer).

High Tech Crime Operations deals with this stuff every day which means these creeps are out there where you are hanging online everyday!

So, what can you do to make yourself safer?

• Think before you click - remember that any info you upload is there for all to see
• Be careful about the kind of personal information you put up on your MySpace or Facebook
• Be selective about the type of photos you put up online
• Show judgement when accepting friends online - you wouldn't become friends with any random you met on the street so why have different standards online? Simply don't!
• If you put pics up of your family or friends have the decency to get their ok before putting them up. Would you want your friends putting your pics all over the place without your permission?
• If you have a feeling someone is not who they claim they are when chatting online, trust your instincts, tell your parents, block them
• If you don't think you can tell your parents, report them at virtualglobaltaskforce.com and click on the big red report button
• Be really, really wary about posting webcam stuff online of yourself
• Pretending to be older than your age can be kinda cool but there's a reason why you have to be a certain age to sign up to myspace or facebook and they are good reasons. These offenders search for young girls online and let's face it when you are actually 14 you may not be ready to deal with these guys who are a lot older, lot wiser and heaps sneaky.

Click to read a true story about a girl who was subjected to online predators.