For the Record
RALEIGH — As your children head back to school this year, buying new supplies and clothes is not enough. Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina (BBB) suggests parents also be thinking about how to help them stay safe online and avoid being easy targets for online scammers.
BBB offers the following tips for Back-to-School Internet Safety:
Creating accounts on websites without permission: Social media sites are ripe with strangers with intentions that may be quite different than yours. Many sites are designed to collect and sell unauthorized user details and behaviors to advertisers looking to engage in targeted marketing. Some kids may falsely create a birthdate to meet the minimum age requirement when creating an account. Know what your child is doing online, and keep track of the social media sites and accounts to which they have access.
Contests and giveaways: Contests and giveaways often collect a hefty amount of personal information on their entry forms. Many are thinly disguised ways of collecting personal or financial information that could lead to identity theft. Make sure your child doesn’t have access to banking or credit card information and supervise the filling out of any forms.
Phishing: Adults are not the only ones who receive spam and junk mail. Kids often get junk mail, and since they don’t have much online experience, they are more susceptible to click on links and answer questions they probably shouldn’t. While some emails may be legitimate, the last thing parents want, or need, is a $500 bill from a fraudulent website where a purchase may have been made- or worse, giving up personal information that can be traced back to your home.
Understand apps: Short for “applications,” apps are downloaded software that operates on various devices, such as smartphones. However, certain apps might collect and share personal information about your child or target your child with ads. Even free apps may include paid features, and children may not understand that some apps or game features cost money, since they were labeled free to download. They may click on these so-called free games and end up costing parents or guardians a hefty bill at the end of the month.
File sharing sites: Many websites allow children to download free media. A child may not realize that these sites often come with the risk of downloading a virus, allowing identity thieves to access the gaming device, personal computer or cell phone that’s being used. From there, the cyberthief can track financial transactions, physical location or even tap into the household wifi without anyone knowing it.
Tips on how to manage online privacy for the family:
Read privacy policies together and understand privacy settings. Parents can have their children read the privacy policies and terms of use of any apps they want. While there might be a little grumbling that the policies “are too long” or that “it takes too much time,” remind them of the importance of knowing what they are signing up for and insist that they are read. Then, take time to learn and understand the privacy settings on each app and game.
Don’t share your location. Nearly every app automatically tracks a user’s location. From placing an online order for groceries or fast food to playing an online game, review the apps on all of your devices to see which ones are tracking your location. Then, if it’s not needed, look in the settings to see how to disable this feature. Advise a friend or family member to avoid geo-tagging their posts with their location. Why? For example, you don’t want to announce the fact your family is vacationing out of state while the house sits empty. A simple review of the geo-tagged post will reveal where you really are.
Use parental controls if necessary. Although the best way to keep a child’s online privacy safe is to teach them to manage it themselves, it doesn’t hurt to have their backs by using parental controls. Today Android, iOS, and most web browsers offer built-in features that allow parents to monitor their children’s online activities, but third-party apps are also available. Research the option that works best. Follow through with the child to explain why you’re monitoring their activities.
Share with care, and remember, personal information is like money. What is posted online can last a lifetime: parents can teach children that any information they share online can easily be copied and is almost impossible to take back. Talk to them about who might see a post and how it might be perceived in the future, and show them how anything they do online can positively or negatively impact other people. Sharing personal information can also give online thieves an idea of what login information or passwords might be used for banking or other online accounts.
For more information you can trust, visit BBB.org.
