Phishing is an attempt by a third party to solicit confidential information from an individual, group, or organization by mimicking or spoofing a specific, well-known brand for financial gain.
How do you explain this to your child? That’s simple—because the analogy is in the name—fishing! Alike fishing for recreation, cybercriminals use bait to lure their fish (your child). However, in this case, the bait is the message they want your child to click on to trick them into biting the worm (the scam). There are a few hints to look out for in emails to avoid these cyber threats.
- Link your child’s email to your device and enable notifications. Review these messages together to spot signs of phishing.
- Keep a close eye out for blurry or pixelated images or requests for personal information.
- Check for spelling mistakes and grammar errors – this is usually a clear indicator of a scam.
- If the message or offer seems too good to be true, then it probably is!