SurfWisely Synopsis

Why does this matter to me?

Parents — Our kids are spending more and more time online, and there are more and more dangers out there that can potentially affect them, too. Phishing scams can lead to loss of personal information, identity theft, password hacks, malware, and more. Luckily, they can be easily avoided by learning their characteristics early on.

Principals and School Administrators — It’s your job to keep kids safe, and your school’s budget wants you to keep devices protected, too. One easy way to improve school safety for kids, computers, and tablets is to implement training on phishing scams. If your kids don’t click on malicious links or advertisements, problems like the loss of personal information, school cybersecurity threats, and malware can be stopped in their tracks.

Tech Teachers — You know all about the dangers of phishing scams, but how can you share this information with students on top of your already-full curriculum. Jump down to the bottom paragraph of this post and reach out to SurfWisely for a cybersecurity program that’s as simple as it is fun.

More About Teaching Students to Spot Phishing Scams

There are plenty of cybersecurity scams on the internet today, but phishing scams are often the most difficult to spot. Why? Because they look like they’re coming from real companies, and they play on our emotions with real-life concerns (credit card hacks, private information vulnerabilities, social networking concerns, etc.). It’s important for our students to be trained to spot them in their tracks, so they don’t end up being used as bait in cybersecurity attacks. 

What Are Phishing Scams?

Phishing scams are emails that come from hackers with security risks inside. They look like they are being sent by real companies at first glance. For example, you could get a message from Netflix that states your password needs updating. It has the company’s logo, but other aspects seem off.

The emails typically include links, and once you reach their site, they ask you to enter personal information like phone numbers, credit cards, passwords, social security numbers, and more. They can also lead to malware and other cyber threats on your device.

If you enter this information, a cyber attack will begin. You could have something as small as a password hacked, or something as large as identity theft.

Aspects of Phishing Scam Emails to Look Out For

Spotting phishing scams can be tricky, as common sense isn’t enough to stop them. By spotting the following characteristics, however, your students will be able to avoid them every time.

• Mentions of suspicious online activity, update requirements, or other concerns
• Claims of problems with your account
• Requests for authentication on a mobile device or confirmation of private information
• Demands for privacy setting changes
• Password change requests for social media accounts
• Offers or deals that seem “too good to be true”

Each of these requests will include a link to click on. Be sure not to follow it, as it won’t go to the site the email is supposedly from. It’ll go to the hacker instead, and they’ll have the chance to keep any sensitive information you provide.

Some signs emails are from cybercriminals and not actual companies include:

• Logos that are similar, but not exactly the same as the ones you’ve seen before (pixelated, outdated, etc.)
• Sender addresses other than the actual company’s email
• Generic openings that do not include your name (“Hi, loyal customer” or “Dear friend”)

If you’re not sure if an email is a phishing scam, it’s a good idea to reach out to the supposed company. That way, they can tell you if the message was legitimate or if it’s something you need to avoid.

Share these tips with your students to build cyber safety knowledge and start their avoidance of phishing emails today. Feel free to let our team at SurfWisely know if you’d like additional support in teaching cybersecurity for kids, too. Our gamified, educational app is the perfect tool to keep kids safe, teaching internet safety topics in a simple, effective, and easy-to-implement way.

SurfWisely Synopsis

Why does this matter to me?

Parents — With the amount of time our students spend online today, we need to be proactive about cybersecurity and internet safety. Kids need to learn about protecting themselves, their friends, and their devices online. Implementing fun and engaging programming to teach them these skills can ensure they enjoy the lessons and take in the teachings, too.

Principals and School Administrators — With kids spending so much time on both school devices and smartphones, cybersecurity has become a part of your career. By teaching students to protect themselves, their friends, and their devices online, you can prevent troubles like identity theft, cyberbullying, viruses, and more. Gamified cybersecurity programming can make the process fun for everyone involved, too.

Tech Teachers — Cybersecurity is at the heart of your career, but it’s not always something students want to hear. By implementing a gamified program to teach these skills, you take one topic off your already-full plate and protect students’ online safety at the same time. Hop down to the last paragraph of this post to learn more.

More Cybersecurity Best Practices for Kids

Our kids are growing up in a whole new world. Because of the presence the internet plays in our society, students need to learn to protect themselves online at an early age. If they’re old enough to be browsing online, they’re ready to learn the basics of cyber security.

Cyber security for kids can be broken down into the three categories shown below:

Protecting Yourself

The internet can be a dangerous place — yes, even for yourself. This is a lesson that kids need to learn in order to be as safe as possible while using technology. Some top tools to teach your students about protecting themselves online include:

1. Keeping private information, such as birth dates, addresses, full names, phone numbers, credit cards, and bank information private to prevent identity theft.
2. When entering sensitive information, ensuring that the site is safe, the device is private, and encrypted text is utilized at all times. 
3. Password management skills and the real-life effects that can come from hacking and similar cyber threats and cyber-attacks.

Protecting Your Friends

These days, students can protect others online as much as they can protect themselves. The most effective way they can support those around them through internet safety is to stop cyberbullying in its tracks.

Kids can help prevent and stop cyberbullying attempts by:

1. Acting as a positive role model while utilizing social media, always promoting kindness and respect for others with posts, tags, shares, etc.
2. Telling an adult right away when cyberbullying occurs. 
3. Standing up for friends who fall victim to cyberbullying on social networking when it is safe to do so.

Protecting Your Devices

Protecting the technology used to access the internet is another huge topic for students to master. It’s essential is saving the high-priced tools they use for homework —and real work in the future— and it helps protect the devices that belong to their school districts, too.

1. Learn to spot malware and other phishing scams, as well as the negative effects that can occur when they’re clicked on — hacked accounts, stolen data or private information, internally damaged hardware and devices, etc.
2. Use privacy settings, strong passwords, and multi-factor authentication to ensure only authorized users can access devices in your care.
3. Use wifi passwords and protection to secure private connections at all times.

As you can see, cyber safety isn’t always common sense. These lessons need to be taught to students to protect them against hackers, cybercriminals, cyberbullies, and more. Incorporate the tips above into your class curriculum or at-home lesson plans, and reach out to the team at SurfWisely if you need any support. Our easy-to-implement, gamified software is a fun and effective way to teach cyber security for kids.