GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – You’re not the only one getting those scam text messages about unpaid toll charges or issues with your Amazon account.
How can we make sure kids don’t fall for these scams, especially since so many teens and tweens have phones these days?
We’re just getting some great advice from the Federal Trade Commission.
Yes, you can tell your kids to delete and never respond to unexpected texts, but you want them to understand why.
The FTC has a game plan for parents. It says the next scam text you get could be a great conversation starter about how scams work.
Explain how scammers impersonate real companies and agencies.
Let your kids know that people online are not always who they say they are, and clicking on links could lead to a website that tries to steal your information.
Make sure they know sharing personal or financial information could lead to bigger problems, like identity theft, losing your money, or scammers getting access to your accounts.
Help kids know how to report and delete junk text messages on their phones.
To turn it into a game, the FTC suggests asking kids to show you the message first and then explain how they knew it was a scam. You can reward them each time they correctly spot a scam.
Remind them that scammers use pressure so you don’t have time to think, so it’s important to slow things down.
Another good reminder is to let them know to get help from a parent or trusted adult anytime they’re not sure if something is a scam.
Finally, the FTC says scammers tell you to pay with cash, a gift card, prepaid debit card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or payment app — ways of paying that make it hard to get your money back.
You can make all of these reminders a part of the game with your kids and come up with a special treat once they earn enough points.
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