How to Protect Yourself from Online Creeps
I’d like to be able to tell you the world is a safe place for kids, but the reality is there are some real creeps out there. They try to be pretty sneaky and do things like pretend to be a new friend or try to hack into our computers. We need to be on guard to outsmart them!
You can protect yourself online if you remember a few easy tips.
I call it:
POPPY
Privacy
Only friends
Personal stuff
Parents
Your details
Here’s what it means
Privacy – Check your privacy settings on all of the apps you use. You control who sees what you post, who can comment and who can send you messages – the first step in keeping out the creeps!
Only friends – Only accept requests or messages from people you actually know – NO strangers! If you don’t know them, they have no business seeing what you post. Plus, they might not be who they appear to be. What if some jerk is trying to send you a virus and it wrecks your device?
Personal stuff – Don’t share personal stuff online. Even with privacy settings, you never know who might share your post with other people or take a screenshot. Make sure whatever you post online you’d be ok with ANYONE seeing. Keep your personal thoughts in a password-protected document or a good old journal.
Parents – If you see something you’re not ok with, or aren’t sure if you should post something, ask your parents or another adult you trust. They have more experience and can give good advice. Be open with them, so you won’t feel like they’re snooping in your stuff and they’ll know they can trust you to be responsible online.
Your details – NEVER share your details like your address, phone number, birthday or what school you go to. This is valuable stuff to bad guys and to companies. Also, some websites collect details and sell them to set up fake identities! Protect yours like treasure. (Tip: Nerdy Assassin is not my real name – make up your own alter ego!).
Next time you are online, remember POPPY to keep yourself safe from bad guys.
You can outsmart them!
Stay safe guys!