Our children are online now more than ever before. Cell phones are in the hands of kids at a very young age. Our older parents and family members are online in greater numbers, too. And with the accessibility of smartphones and tablets becoming more user friendly, we now have two large age brackets that could benefit from an education in the hard-knocks of the internet.

The risks for family members are great and varied. We want you to be aware and empowered to keep your family as safe as possible, no matter their age. These tips may help you, too, be safer online.

According to GuardChild, 21% of kids in kindergarten-2nd grade have access to cell phones and only 15% of parents stay up to date on their kids’ social media behavior, which leads to more and more cyberbullying. While some of these statistics may be shocking, knowledge is power. Knowing what your child is doing online is the first step in keeping them safe.

Our parents and older loved ones are at high risk, too, in a different way. They are being targeted for fraud and scams, some of which involve online solicitors pretending to be loved ones in distress, and online dating scams.

With so much risk involved in simply using the internet, how do we guide loved ones through the digital world? Thankfully, there are a few practical tips and extra steps you can take to keep yourself and your family safe online.

Always make sure you read the “privacy policy” and “terms and conditions” before signing up for any service. Be sure they will not sell or use your data for marketing before you put your personal information in their hands. Most of us don’t have a clue how many times we’ve given our permission for what we would ordinarily consider an invasion of our privacy. Additional information to help you stay safe online and raise your awareness of privacy risks can be found on the FBI’s website at https://www.fbi.gov/.

If it’s hard for us to know how to stay safe online, how can we expect our children or parents to know? Is it tedious? Perhaps, but how much more tedious, and even damaging, would it be for your identity to be stolen? Worse yet is for something to happen to that loved one which could have been prevented. No one wants that for you.

It’s your phone number.
It’s your email address.
It’s none of their business.
(And, it’s your family’s safety!)
Sign Up Now!