According to a report, the number of crimes committed against children rose by 144% in 2020. It was also discovered that cyber dangers are encountered by six out of ten youngsters between the ages of 8 and 12. One of the most effective ways to reduce some of the risks posed by cyber-attacks is to teach youngsters about the effects those threats have.
Threats Related to Social Engineering
It is essential to instruct children to recognize manipulations of social systems. Children tend to be more trusting and open to persuasion than adults do. Let us imagine you created an online persona of a police officer and presented yourself there. By using deception, you can convince a child to reveal important details about either themselves or their parents.
Cybercriminals impersonate anyone they want online to steal money or valuable personal information for identity fraud, and children, especially younger children, have a higher risk of falling for the ruse than adults do. Online dating scams are similar to cybercriminal impersonation scams. Adults must make it plain to children that not everyone online is who they claim they are and that children should approach all chats with skepticism.
Gaming and beyond
The world of internet gaming is also crawling with criminal organisations that prey on young people. Children are accustomed to exchanging goods and services for money, but it is possible that they will not be able to distinguish the difference between legitimate vendors and those selling on the black market.
If you feel comfortable giving your child access to your credit card, it is important to instruct them on how and when to use it online. Encourage children to only purchase video games from authorized and licenced retailers, and warn them to ignore anyone who asks for payment for gaming-related items or services through online chat or social media platforms. Scammers may utilise in-game chat or SMS messages to send children phishing URLs in an attempt to trick them into handing over personal information or money. Teach your child to avoid opening links that come from unknown sources, and instruct them to confirm surprising connections that come from friends via voice chat and how to protect your phone from being hacked.
Make sure your children are aware that they should carefully examine web addresses that look familiar. Fraudsters create websites that appear as large gaming retail sites or social media sites, but their spelling is slightly different.
Open the channels of communication.
In addition to familiarising children with various informational resources about
cybersecurity, it is essential to develop an open line of communication with children about the activities they participate in online. Essentially, children need to develop a relationship of trust with the people in their lives so that they feel comfortable approach those adults with their questions and worries when they are in tough situations and don’t know how to respond or act.
There is no one way to raise kids or teach them how important it is to stay safe online that works for everyone. You have to adapt your message to the specific requirements of each youngster and always keep their requirements in mind.
Using parental control applications is a quick and easy way to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content online. If the idea of paying to install third-party parental control software on your child’s computer or mobile device is off-putting to you, keep in mind that Apple, Google, and Microsoft all have free parental control settings that are already baked directly into their respective platforms. Having said that, parental control software can only do so much to safeguard children when they are using the internet. In the long term, if parents educate their children about social engineering, phishing, and other types of cons, it will save everyone a lot of time and energy, not to mention money.