How to teach children to be safe online

The internet, with its wealth of information and conveniences, is also a place that hides many potential dangers for children. From violent, pornographic content to sophisticated scams, cybercriminals always find ways to approach and take advantage of children's curiosity. They can pretend to be friends to lure children into sharing personal information, or create attractive online games to lure children into dangerous situations.

To protect their children from these dangers, parents need to equip them with basic knowledge about online safety, such as how to recognize and avoid harmful content, not revealing personal information to strangers, and being wary of overly attractive offers. In addition, creating an open family environment where children can freely share their concerns is also important.

Beware of Non-Technical Attack Threats

Social Engineering is a form of cyber attack that targets human psychology instead of exploiting technical vulnerabilities. Attackers will use psychological tricks, communication skills and social information to trick users into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers or performing other harmful actions.

Regarding this threat, Mr. Povilas Junas, Research Director of the virtual private network service provider Surfshark (Netherlands), said that children are very easy targets of cyber attacks, especially scams via social networks, emails or online games. Attackers often impersonate relatives, friends, or even employees of reputable organizations to lure children into revealing personal information or installing malware.

"Children are often curious and trusting," Junas said. "They can be easily fooled by attractive promises or requests for help. For example, an attacker might pose as a police officer online and ask a child to provide information about the family's bank account under the pretext of investigating a crime."

Just like online dating scams, cybercriminals can easily impersonate anyone they want online, from relatives, friends, teachers, even celebrities. Their purposes are very diverse, it can be to scam money, steal personal information for identity fraud activities or even to exploit children's emotions.

To protect children from these dangers, adults need to equip their children with basic knowledge about internet safety. We need to make it clear to children that not everyone is who they say they are online, and that information online is not always true. In addition, we need to encourage children to participate in all online conversations with a high sense of vigilance, not easily believing strange promises or requests.

Always stay safe in the world of online gaming

The world of online gaming, while attractive and colorful, also poses many dangers for children. In addition to threats from violent games and negative language, children also face sophisticated scams from cybercriminals.

Mr. Junas pointed out a typical example: "In online games, the buying and selling of items, accounts or other services is very common. Children, with their curiosity and desire to own rare items, can easily be lured into illegal trading. They may not be able to distinguish between reputable sellers and professional scammers, ready to deceive children to appropriate money or personal information."

If you trust your child with a credit card, teach them how and when to use it online. Encourage them to only buy games from official, licensed vendors and avoid anyone who asks them to pay for gaming goods or services via chat or social media.

Scammers may use phishing links to trick children into giving up information or money through in-game chat or SMS messages. Teach your child not to open links from strangers and to verify unexpected links from friends via voice chat.

Teach your child to differentiate between real and fake websites. Scammers are very sophisticated and can create websites that look exactly like the gaming or social networking sites your child uses. However, if you look closely, you will see some small differences such as changing some characters in the URL or having many spelling mistakes.

Talk openly with children about online safety

Mr Junas stressed the importance of establishing open lines of communication with children about their online activities. “Providing information about online safety is only part of the story,” he said. “More importantly, we need to build a trusting relationship with children. When children feel comfortable sharing what is going on in their online world, we can help them recognize and avoid potential dangers.”

Imagine your child receives a strange message from a stranger on social media. Instead of yelling at them, analyze the situation with them. Ask them how they feel about the message, and work together to find the best way to handle it. It may be a harmless prank, but it could also be a sign of cyberbullying. Listening to them and working together to find a solution will help them feel safer and more confident.

Educating children about online safety is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Every child is an individual with different needs and interests. We need to tailor our approach to suit the child’s age and personality.

“When talking to a 6-year-old about online safety, you can start with simple examples like, ‘Don’t share personal information like your phone number or home address with strangers online,’” Junas says. “You can also set some ground rules, like, ‘We can only use the computer in the living room, and you will always be near me.’ As your child gets older, you can delve into more complex issues like fake news, online bullying, and how to verify information.”

The most important thing is that we create an open environment where children feel comfortable asking questions and sharing their concerns. We need to listen to their opinions and respect their privacy.