Teaching your kids when NOT to share!
Child identity theft is considered to be one of the fastest-growing crimes. Kids’ identities are stolen over 50 times more than those of adults!
We’re often so focused protecting our kids from so many threats in the real world; we forget that in cyberspace bad guys are stealing children’s identities to open credit cards, apply for loans, rent homes and even receive health care. Bad guys make money by selling and reselling the same child’s identity over and over. And they get away with it because parents don’t think about monitoring their son or daughter’s identity.
Children could potentially lose out on future jobs, internships and loans that require a clean credit report or worse—all because they shared information about themselves with the wrong people. That’s a future we’re trying to help children avoid.
Kids sometimes share too much information online because they don’t understand the implications. In a recent study, 75% of kids said they are willing to share personal information about themselves and families online. 63% of kids have responded to online scams.
It’s time to talk with kids about the digital data they leave behind.
∞ When you travel the Internet—playing games, watching videos, looking at webpages—you leave a trail of data exhaust. Just like when we are driving in a car. But this exhaust contains all kinds of information about you.
∞ This trail doesn’t disappear. Often it’s stored in cyber clouds for a very, very, very long time. It’s like having a shadow because it follows you across cyberspace. And lots of people want your shadow, even the bad guys.
∞ Sometimes apps that appear to be safe, like downloading a free game, might ask you personal information like your name, location, birthday or school. But remember the bad guys are tricky. That’s why we don’t share any information about you or our family, without asking permission from Mom or Dad first. Sharing personal information about ourselves on the Internet could put us all in danger.
Growing up in the real world is difficult enough that we don’t want our kids digital lives to hold them back!