Scammers in Russia often target children, trying to deceive them on social networks, as well as calling children on their mobile phones. Expert of the People's Front project "For the Rights of Borrowers" and the "Moshelovka" platform, Alexandra Pozharskaya, shared advice on how to protect children from cyber scammers. In her opinion, parents should create clear algorithms of actions and show children how important it is to keep information confidential.
Create an algorithm of actions. Agree that in case of any call [from scammers] or message, the child should immediately stop the conversation, inform you or clarify the information with the class teacher.
In her opinion, it is impossible to overestimate the importance of conversations on cybersecurity topics. The expert emphasized that parents should explain that no one should ever report codes from SMS, even if the interlocutor introduces himself as an acquaintance.
The code from SMS is a one-time key to money or personal data, and giving it to a third party is like giving a wallet to a stranger.
It will also be useful to install applications on the child's phone to identify numbers that may alert about potential fraudulent calls. It is recommended to set up bank cards linked to the student's phone with low limits for online payments or completely disable the possibility of making such actions.
Pozharskaya focused on the fact that children can become victims of cyber scammers due to trust in adults, lack of critical thinking, and misunderstanding of technical aspects of security.
Scammers often create an artificial sense of urgency and panic: you need to update urgently, otherwise the diary will be blocked and there will be problems with grades.