Smart Ways to Save Your Child from Phishing

| Updated on March 27, 2024

Mobile phones and use of the internet is quite common in kids. They have access to a lot of technologies at a very young age. This can be very dangerous as they are quite naive and this makes them quite prone to phishing attacks or spam messages or emails. Kids are on every social media at  a very young age. Social media is also not safe as it can also be used as a medium for phishing attacks.

Phishing is a criminal activity that involves stealing of confidential information like credit card details, bank details, or other important login information. Criminals steal this important information by sending you fraud messages. They send fake and deceptive messages, pretending as if they came from big organizations that you trust so that you will easily believe and fall in the trap. These scam and fake messages contain a link to a dangerous website where you are asked to enter confidential and personal information. A Parental Control App can help to block spam mails and protect you and your family from all kinds of cyber threats.

Types of Phishing Attacks

There are two types of phishing attacks that are elaborated in detail below:

Spear Phishing

It generally targets a small group or a specific business to gather all the information or data. After they have the list of the customers that are related to the business, then they send spam mails and messages to the customers. There are very high chances that the customers will fall into the trap because they are already a part of that business. Hence a specific target or a small group as a target is included in spear phishing.

Spam Phishing and Other Types of Phishing

 Spear phishing involves sending fraud emails to people, whereas, other phishing attacks are not limited to emails. They target people on social networking sites also. Any online advertisement or tweets or posts may also include dangerous links that can be harmful for you.

You cannot take phishing lightly as it can be dangerous for every age group. You can be an easy target of phishing attacks because it is very difficult nowadays to hide your mobile number or email id. Especially kids pose a great risk against this as they are very young and they can be easily tricked into opening any harmful link or website. 

Tips to Avoid Phishing

Here, we have mentioned some of the tips to avoid phishing

Don’t Open the Email

 This is one of the simplest ways to be safe from phishing attacks. Try to avoid emails that are not from trusted sources. Make sure to verify the sender of the email and if you think the email is suspicious then its best to avoid it. These emails may contain dangerous links that will take you to a webpage, which will ask you for your personal and confidential information. Hover over to the link that is in the email to see where that will take you in order to avoid any harm. You should teach your child the same thing to avoid any kind of harm.

Check Certain Things if The Email Looks Suspicious

 Always properly check the domain name as they are normally the same as the genuine website so that you will trust them easily. There will be some error in the domain name as they won’t use the exact name of the trusted websites. Any special characters can be added in the domain name to make it look similar to the original one. Therefore, it becomes important to check the domain name. Also, do not download the file attachments as they may have malware that can access your private and confidential information.

Preventive Measures to Avoid Phishing

You must always stay aware and attentive in order to avoid phishing attacks. Some preventive measures must be taken that are discussed below.

Use a Security Software

 If you have updated antivirus installed on your computer then it will stop any malware or virus from getting downloaded. It will regularly scan your device to make sure there is not any virus or malware in it. Antivirus like Avast ultimate is a must for every device, looking at the current scenario of cyberattacks. You should teach your child to keep the device apps and antivirus software updated and also keep a check yourself too.

Don’t Share Private Information

 These attacks normally request your private information so make sure you do not share it online. Normally, your banks or any trusted websites will not ask for your personal or confidential information online. So, do not share information that can be dangerous for you online. Before sharing the confidential information, always validate the email sender first. Train your kids to look out for these kinds of mails and if ever they encounter such information, they should avoid giving any information.

Report Spam

 Reporting a malicious email can be very effective. This will be helpful to protect other individuals from getting targeted by these phishing attacks. If such emails are from any big trusted company then directly report them that someone is copying their name to take the sensitive information from users. This will help companies to take some steps against it in order to prevent these phishing attacks. Your child may not be able to differentiate between the real or spam mail, so you have to keep a check on his/her phone to ensure that no private information gets leaked.               

Keep a Clean Machine

 Make sure that all the software is up to date in the devices that are connected from the internet like smartphones, computers, laptops, tablets, etc. This will reduce the risk of phishing attacks and will prevent other viruses and malware from getting downloaded. An Organized mail account can be effective to avoid any spam.

Try to Contact the Company Directly

 Always be sure regarding the sender of the email. In case if you are not sure then verify and validate the email address by contacting the company. Do not open or reply to suspicious emails without verifying it. Make this thing a habit and ask your children to do the same.

Check Website URL

 The website in the email may look identical to the legitimate and trusted website. But, there can be some change in the name or it can also have special characters. You can verify the trusted website based on the spelling. This is the best way to identify and differentiate the fake website from the real one.

Give Knowledge to Children

The rate of phishing attacks is increasing day by day. Parents must educate their child regarding it. Kids must know what phishing attack is and how they can be safe from it. Awareness is very important for kids as they are on their mobile phones and internet for most of the time.

Use Parental Control App

Here is an example of TiSPY Parental Control App where you can see the mails and block it before your child opens that spammy mail.

Parental control apps can keep your kids safe online. With the help of this app, parents can check the activities that are done by the kids online. They can block emails or spam messages if they think they are inappropriate. Parental control apps can be very effective against phishing attacks for protecting your kids. Every parent should have this app to protect their child from any such fraud.


Chitra Joshi

Content Writer & Marketer


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