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Your young adult children or teen grandkids are more vulnerable to scams, but they still rely on you for assistance.
According to the FBI and experts, young people—like your teenage grandkids or young adult children—are becoming more frequently the targets of digital fraud.
Those same teens and twentysomethings respond that their parents and grandparents are the people they trust the most when asked. Thus, in this instance, bite the bullet and offer to lead them through the perilous terrain of contemporary fraud.
The National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) charity’s executive director, Lisa Plaggemier, said, “Kids will say things to grandparents they won’t say to a parent.”
“You can benefit from that unique relationship and have far more candid discussions.”
That support is desperately required.
According to a September 2022 NCA report, compared to older adults in the poll, 18% of Generation Zers (those between the ages of 18 and 25) had at least one identity theft, 34% lost money or data due to phishing scams, and 15% fell victim to romantic scams.
In 2021, 14,919 cyberscam reports totaling $101.4 million were submitted to the FBI by individuals under the age of 19. According to a different research from the fraud prevention firm Seon, there was a 116 percent increase in online fraud incidents involving individuals under the age of 20 between 2019 and 2020.Young people are increasingly being targeted with pitches tailored to their generation, even though they are susceptible to many of the same scams as older people. As an illustration, criminals offer to assist youth in becoming internet “influencers.” The FBI says that sextortion scams, in which offenders obtain sexual images from minors and use them as leverage, are becoming more common. This is the most concerning of all.
“Any game app, website, or social media platform can start sextortion,” says Amy Nofziger, AARP director of fraud victim support. “I want parents and older adults to say to the young people in their lives, ‘If you ever hear anybody struggling with this, talk to somebody.'”
According to Stephen Balkam, the founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), young people are particularly vulnerable because so much of their everyday life takes place online. It is much more likely for young people to experience peer pressure to be online, he claims, not only to consume information but also to create and produce it. This implies that “scammers have a lot more opportunities.”
Balkam points out that this is the point at which your children and grandchildren are concerned about fraud. Seventy percent of teenagers and young adults stated that their parents were the source they went to most often for information on online safety in a 2021 FOSI survey. However, it can be difficult for an adolescent to approach parents when they believe they have done something wrong or embarrassing, which is why other family members’ support is so important.
According to innumerable anecdotes, grandparents are the ones informing parents about happenings on social media platforms, according to Balkam. Kids find it easier to communicate with another adult in the household most of the time.
Here are 4 Ways to Approach Your Children and Grandchildren About Fraud
1. Start the conversation about fraud
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When you’re prepared to listen, let them know. The adults in this circumstance are us. We need to discuss it,” Nofziger asserts. “If we don’t, we contribute to the issue.” She suggests bringing up a scam you’ve heard about in the news and finding out if they’re hearing about it from friends or at school. Find out what they would do if they fell for a scam. To whom would they talk?
2. Don’t judge in fraud
Assure them that they can come to you in any situation and that you will be understanding, nonjudgmental, and not upset. “Thank you for telling me,” should be your opening line if and when they approach you with a concern. Together, let’s solve this problem,” Nofziger said. “Reserve your rage and shock for a quiet moment by yourself. 4 Ways to Approach Your Children and Grandchildren About Fraud
Read More: Social Media Fraud in Dating: Learning Effect Prevention
3. Disseminate social media and internet safety advice
Are we discussing identity theft here? Encourage people to avoid disclosing their home address, date of birth, or other seemingly innocent information on social media, as scammers may use it to apply for credit cards. Remind them, according the NCA, to “think before they click” on links in emails, texts, tweets, messages on social media, and online advertisements. Are you referring to the dangers of phony online stores? Describe how con artists often create internet sites that mimic well-known retailers’ designs, according to Nofziger.
Teach them detective skills. If consumers happen across an unfamiliar online retailer, searching for its name online with the terms “scam” or “fraud” may turn up startling information or complaints.
4. Show interest in their digital devices about fraud.
After being suitably impressed, ask them about privacy and security settings. You can also ask them to see the new apps they’re enthused about. Plaggemier advises against this. These include disabling location sharing, geotagging images, opting for multifactor authentication, and private buddy lists. Every time a new app is released or a social media platform undergoes an update, safety needs to be discussed. Because privacy settings may be impacted by that. You can customize it together if your child or grandchild is unable to adjust the privacy settings.
