The Best Ways to Protect Your Children From Online Scams
There are many resources available to help adults learn how to protect themselves from online scams, identity theft, and other nefarious schemes. They also help protect a group of children under 18, but as any parent of a teenager will tell you, children tend to think they know everything, which means they may not be protecting themselves.
“Teens are very confident in using digital tools and can inherently trust them,” says Diedra Porche, financial health expert at Chase. “Parents should remind them that they should always protect their personal information, such as date of birth, Social Security number and account numbers, both in real life and online. They should not share passwords or PINs.”
We’ll look at other ways you can help your children protect themselves from identity theft, scams, and other scams.
Set up parental controls on smartphones
One of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) top tips for protecting children from scams and questionable content is the most obvious: install filtering and blocking tools, stop outgoing content to prevent the disclosure of personal information, use monitoring software, and limit screen time. We have articles on locking your child’s iPhone , how kids bypass parental controls , and talking to your kids about internet safety to help you get started.
Install file sharing software correctly
If you thought peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing software went the way of Napster, boomer, you’re wrong. Copyright issues aside, if your teen is using BitTorrent, InterPlanetary File System, or another program on your computer to share music, movies, or other files, there’s a good chance they’re unintentionally exposing your personal information and files to numerous people.
The FTC recommends that if you continue to use P2P file sharing, set it up yourself to ensure that nothing sensitive is revealed. Also, have your children scan downloaded files with security software to make sure they are free of spyware, malware, and other viruses.
Don’t send money to strangers
Romance scams don’t just happen to grandmas. Fake celebrity accounts, bots and other scammers promise love, concert tickets and merchandise if your child sends them money electronically.
“If teens receive requests for money through online games, social media, or even text messages, remind them to never send money to people you don’t know because you may never get it back,” says Porche. .
Never give out information to receive benefits or prizes.
In the world of online gaming, you have to pay for bonuses. Porche advises that if your child receives an offer of online skins or other benefits for some personal information, they should not share it. The same goes for online quizzes or social media games: scammers can use them to collect personal data, including birthdays, addresses and other information.
“Scammers can gain access to your accounts or devices and steal information, such as your parents’ credit card number,” she says.
Freeze your teen’s credit report
Most kids won’t have a credit report until they turn 18, but that changes if someone gets access to their personal information and uses it for nefarious purposes. You’ll have to contact the three major credit bureaus to check and freeze their credit report, making it difficult to open an account in their name.
The Federal Trade Commission even recommends going a step further: When your child turns 16, contact a credit bureau to obtain a credit report. If there are any discrepancies, you will have plenty of time to correct the errors before your teen gets a job or goes to college.
Protect your personal information
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires websites, apps, and other online services to inform parents if they collect personal information from children under age 13, including their name, address, telephone number, or email address. email, location, photos, videos, audio and even their IP address.
For example, if your teen needs to register to use a feature on a site, you should receive plain language notice about what information is being collected, how they will use it, and how and where you can give your consent. If you believe that an online service does not comply with COPPA rules, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov .
Find out about scams together
“Children begin to form financial habits at an early age and may be interacting with digital tools before they even reach adolescence, so keep the conversation about staying safe and aware of the dangers online age-appropriate but consistent,” says Porche.
These conversations could be about shopping safely online from reputable and secure online stores that include https in their URLs, or learning together to spot impostors, including phishing scammers and “talent scouts.”