How to Protect Your Kids from Online Identity Theft
Identity theft is one of the most serious problems of the present day. It can range from a rather harmless use of your photos to create an account on a platform to the theft of financial data.
One might believe only adults are prone to identity theft, but kids are also in danger. Protecting them is very important, so here are some tips on preventing identity theft of your child’s information.
Education can prevent identity theft
When you try to protect yourself from thieves, you try to learn how they operate. The same principle is valid for online thieves. Most of them are not brilliant hackers but opportunists who look for the weakest link to prey on you.
In the online medium, the weakest link can be clicking on a deceiving link or sharing your personal information. Teach your child to never open links from people they don’t know. Even if someone they know sends them a link, they should never rush to open it.
You can use an iPhone monitoring software to check out the links your child receives and approve them before clicking on them. To stay on the safe side, you should never click on links you receive without asking for them.
Discuss the latest news on digital safety
Make a habit of talking to your child about the latest safety news and best identity theft protection so that they can stay up to date with the latest methods used by scammers and hackers.
As you talk, you can also spot potential warning signs, like someone asking your child about their address or phone to deliver a supposed prize.
These talks are also opportunities to find out who your child is talking to and bond with them. The more they know about the latest ways to be scammed, your child can protect themselves better.
Don’t be afraid to block people
When everything else fails, you can just block suspicious sites and people. Depending on your child’s age, you can just block certain sites on the computer or another device they use or install specialized software that automatically blocks suspicious apps and websites.
If your kids are older and refuse to accept such apps, talk to them about when they should be blocking a person or a website and why they need to do this to stay safe online.
Online Identity Theft: using credit cards online
Kids, computers, and credit cards don’t make a great trio. Most online games ask the player to buy certain things to advance to the next level.
Then there are online shops. Kids and teens are prone to click the “buy” button and insert their parent’s credit card details. They can easily stumble upon a fake page and become a victim of identity theft. Never allow your child to buy things online, and always monitor how they use a credit card.
Teaching your child how to protect themselves from identity thieves will help them and your entire families stay safe online, so don’t neglect to educate them about online safety.
