Warning: My sister's kid almost got scammed on a game and it made me think about how we talk about online safety.

I was over at my sister's place last week and her 12-year-old was really upset. He plays this online game a lot, and someone in the chat said they'd give him a bunch of free in-game coins if he just told them the email linked to his account. He almost did it, but his mom walked in and stopped him. She told me she'd given him the whole 'don't talk to strangers' talk, but it never clicked that a 'stranger' could be another player's avatar offering digital stuff. It hit different because it wasn't some abstract warning about viruses, it was a real person trying to trick a kid out of his login info. It made me realize we need to be way more specific with our advice, especially for younger people who live online. How do you guys explain these kinds of risks to kids or people who aren't tech-savvy?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair_taylor321mo ago

Ever tried to explain phishing to a cat?

cole_baker1mo ago

My nephew fell for a similar trick last month.

murphy.mason1mo ago

Man, that's so real. A buddy of mine, his little cousin got a message that looked just like it was from the game itself, asking to "verify" his account by typing his password. It wasn't the game at all. It's wild how they make it look official. You gotta tell kids that real companies will never, ever ask for your password in a chat, not even a fancy one. It's like @blair_taylor32 said, trying to explain it to someone who doesn't get it is a whole job. You have to use super clear examples, like "if a knight in the game offers you a free sword for your mom's email, that knight is lying.