To Prevent Identity Theft, Monitoring Your Child Is A Must
Computers are great tools, in the right hands. Just because there are cyber criminals and predators does not mean you should ban your child from the Internet. That would be like banning your kid from riding in cars or vans, which can both be helpful or harmful, depending on the situation. But to keep your child and the threat of your family from identity theft, monitoring your child’s online activity is a MUST.
Parental Control Filter
According to eMarketer, 75% of children who go on the internet will willingly give their personal information including their address and phone number to whoever they meet online. Well, kids are trusting. That is why to avoid identity theft, monitoring is necessary.
Special software that blocks a child’s access to adult material on the Internet is easy and inexpensive to get. This is usually called parental control software, or internet filters. You can also check a log that records all of the websites your child has stopped at when online.
And, you should regularly update your anti-spyware software to protect you and your kids’ personal information from identity thieves and online predators.
Other Rules
To protect your family from identity theft, monitoring everyone who uses any f the computers in your home is a must. Here are simple rules you and your kids should follow:
Never give out your personal information: such as your photo, address or phone number to anyone you meet online
Never download files or attachments sent to you from someone else
Use a handle or nickname instead of your real name when online
Another tip to monitor your child’s online safety is to keep the computer in a busy room in the house, such as the living room, where everyone can take a peek at what your kids are peeking at. If possible, have the whole family surf together. This way, you can keep the dangers of online predators and identity theft. Monitoring is necessary, but can be kept to a discreet minimum.
In Conclusion
By following these simple tips, you can not only protect your family from online dangers and fraudsters, but also teach your kids some valuable common sense lessons. By having them learn online safety, they can learn safety in the real world and also learn how to think for themselves. Sure, you may get some eye-rolling and complaints that you are paranoid about identity theft, monitoring them like Big Brother, but when they have kids they will be thankful.
