As your child grows, there may be a number of dangers present in the world that you want to protect them from. Among these issues may be scams that could befall them if they are not careful with their information, or who they talk to.
There are a number of different scams in operation which could catch a person unawares if they do not know the signs of untruthful businesses or individuals.
One of the ways that a scammer may try to make contact can be through telephone calls.
These may come from a withheld number, foreign number, or simply one that you do not
recognise.
Looking for signs that you are unlikely to know the caller, such as a number with the Newcastle area code, rather than your own locale, can help to avoid being scammed.
Worth noting this might not always be the case, but worth being cautious if you are unsure.
Teaching your child to be cautious when answering the phone can be useful. At times, a
caller may claim to be from a company or service, but this might not be the case. It can be a good idea to tell your child that, if they have any reason to be suspicious of the caller, it can be good practice to end the call and ring a genuine number for a company themselves, just to be sure.
In terms of email scams, there are ways that you may be able to spot that communications
are not legitimate. Initially, looking at the sender’s email address can be quite enlightening. It may be spelt differently to the actual company, or even have nothing to do with it. Secondly, the contents of the email itself might highlight a scam communication. Poor spelling and grammar, or referring to your child by their email address, rather than name, can signify that it is a scam.
While it can be a good idea to avoid downloading any attachments or clicking any links contained in the email, your child may also notice that these take them to an incorrect website, where there is punctuation where it shouldn’t be, or misspelling in the
address name, which can show that the sender is false.
Some types of scams may play on a person’s emotions, which can be difficult to overcome.
Many different types of romance scams exist, with some of the most dangerous kinds
involving strangers pretending that they have feelings for your child, and coerce them into
handing over money or information.
It’s important to teach your child not to engage in relationships online and, if they do, to
make sure they have definitive proof that the person is who they say they are. One of the
common features of a romance scam can be asking for money, either to allegedly come and
visit, or due to a fabricated ‘sob story’. Educating your child on the importance of not sending money, or giving out financial or personal information, can protect them here.
While we may hope to bring our children up into a positive and honest world, this is not
always the case. Teaching them about the different scams in operation, as well as how to
avoid becoming a victim, could be invaluable.
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