Facebook, Summer and Kids..Oh, My!
Your Child has a Facebook Account
…….with your permission of course, but something was put in that escaped you entirely.
- Your child mentions when you’ll be away on vacation or let’s friends know that you are away while posting from that destination. You might as well put a sign up in your yard to welcome theives.
- They mention that they are home alone several days in a row, or a parent won’t be home until a certain time which shows they are home alone.
- Your child receives an official looking notification supposedly from Facebook telling them to click on an attachment to access a new password. Doing so installs software on their computer that grabs their user name and password.
- Another scheme uses a hijacked social network account to send an online friend a Web link with an accompanying message, complete with the hijacked account’s profile picture, which says something like, “Hey, watch yourself in this video!” (Who can resist that tease?) Clicking on the link infects the recipient’s computer with malware that the criminal uses to steal passwords.
Will Your Child be a Scam Victim?
To avoid becoming a victim, take the same precautions you would anywhere online..
2 big DON’Ts:
- Don’t respond to any message, no matter how official looking, that asks for a password or PIN.
- Don’t click on links to videos you weren’t expecting or share account information through online messages.
2 big DOs:
If you have a young child or teenager on Facebook, the best way to provide oversight is to
- Become one of their online friends
- Use your e-mail address as the contact for their account so that you receive their notifications and monitor their activities
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