As kids spend more time online, they’re exposed to an increasing number of digital threats. Scammers today are getting creative, using games, social media, and popular online spaces to lure kids with tempting offers, fake profiles, and pressure tactics. With these tricks, scammers aim to get kids to reveal personal information or make unauthorized purchases. To help keep kids safe, parents need to stay informed about these threats and guide their children in recognizing and avoiding scams.
How Scammers Target Kids
- Attention grabbers: Scammers draw in kids with attractive offers that appeal to their interests during gaming or on social media.
- Familiar faces:
- Popular brands and celebrities: Many scams involve fake websites or social media accounts that impersonate popular brands, companies or celebrities to gain trust and trick kids into interacting with them.
- Impersonation of Friends: Scammers often impersonate acquaintances or friends, asking for information or money.
- Sense of urgency: Scammers know kids are quick to click. They create a false sense of urgency, encouraging immediate action without thinking.
Tips for Parents:
- Teach your child about common online scams.
- Use strong passwords and enable two factor authentication on devices and accounts. Teach kids not to share their passwords with anyone.
- Use a password manager on family smartphones and computers.
- Set up safe payment methods for your children and implement parental controls that require approval for purchases.
- Encourage kids to be cautious when interacting with people they meet online. Talk to them about how not everyone has good intentions and what they should look out for.
- Ensure your kids’ social media profiles are private, as the more info scammers have, the better for them.
- Have your teens’ phone set up to block unknown callers or send them straight to voicemail.
- Regularly check in on your child’s online interactions and the platforms they use.
- Regularly update all devices with the latest security patches to protect against vulnerabilities. Use reputable anti-virus and anti malware software on all devices.
- Use high security settings on your home network and understand the risks associated with unsecured public Wi-Fi.
- Encourage your children to come to you with any concerns or questions.
