Spam and phishing

Risks:

Once a child has their own e-mail address, creates a profile on a social networking site or starts exchanging messages using a messaging service, it won't be long before they are confronted with spam or fraudulent phishing messages for the first time. Unsolicited e-mails are generally referred to as spam.

Spam can be divided into three categories. Classic spam is often used for advertising purposes. Spam that has malware attached is designed to infect the recipient's system. This can happen as soon as the user clicks on an attached file or a link to a piece of malware or an infected website. The final category is phishing. These fraudulent messages are designed to get the recipient to disclose personal and sensitive data.

Protective measures:

• Be careful with links: Whether a link is received in an e-mail or in a chat - even if it's a forwarded link from a friend - your child should only click on it if they know the website.
• Discuss how to deal with messages from unknown senders: From the beginning, your child should learn not to open e-mails or messages from unknown senders. Teach your child that the sender, subject and any attachments must all match up and appear plausible before they open an e-mail. Our Three-second security check for e-mails will help!
• Technical settings: Use your e-mail provider's spam protection feature and show your child how to block contacts on social networks and messaging services.
• Be careful with e-mail addresses: e-mail addresses should only be shared when it is necessary to do so. Never reply to spam e-mails. Doing so shows the sender that the message was received and the account is active.
• More tips for tackling spam and phishing

Malware

Risks:

While it is, of course, the parent's responsibility to set up security systems such as a firewall and anti-virus program on the family PC, it is still important to teach children about the dangers of malware at an early stage. Younger users fall into the traps of Internet criminals as they are particularly easily convinced to click on symbols and links that hold the promise of exciting content.

Opening infected e-mails or other electronic messages, or even just visiting a website, allows attackers to infect computers with malicious programs such as viruses, worms and trojans.

Protective measures:

• Explain to your child what computer viruses are. Discuss the potential consequences of malware infections - including the risk of losing all data, photos and games on the PC
• Updates: Regularly install updates to the operating system, browser and other software you use. These updates are provided by the manufacturer. Installing updates will allow you to eliminate any vulnerabilities that cyber criminals could exploit to infect your system with malware.
• Security programs: Ensure that your computer has an anti-virus program and firewall installed and that these programs are activated before you connect to the Internet. Update these programs regularly.
• Further information can be found under Basic protection for your computer.

Divulging personal data

Risks:

Whether it's embarrassing photos, inappropriate nicknames or even phone numbers: Once something has been posted on the Internet, it's there forever. With this in mind, children should learn at an early age that they can no longer control what happens to information once they've posted it online. Even using apps and online games leaves behind a digital footprint. It is not always easy to determine which providers are using which data and how - even for adults. This is why it is always a good idea to think about these aspects before using any online application.

Protective measures:

• Share as little as possible: Sensitive data such as names, dates of birth, phone numbers or addresses should never be shared with strangers. The same applies to photos. We also advise against sharing photos in chats with people who are believed to be friends. Discuss the potential consequences of doing so with your child.
• Set up a non-personal e-mail account: Where possible, your child should use different e-mail addresses for different social media accounts. This makes it harder for others to piece together information from different sources to form a more comprehensive profile. Where possible, the e-mail addresses should be anonymous, which means that they don't include anything that could be used to determine their age or name.
• Configure apps securely: Ideally, you should download apps together with your children. Make sure that apps are only downloaded from trusted sources and check which access rights the app requires to work. Do these rights match up with the intended purpose of the app? Further information is provided under App security tips.
• Use secure passwords: Explain to your child how to come up with secure passwords to protect their data and accounts. Further information is provided under Password security.
• Check out the Schau hin! initiative for more information on protecting your data.

Expensive downloads

Risks:

Many apps now have an in-app purchases function. This means that apps that were originally free to download can quickly become expensive. Downloading ringtones or music files can also be surprisingly costly.

Protective measures:

• Limit the payment options for the relevant app stores or turn off purchases completely.
• Tell your child that in-app purchases or downloads can be very expensive. Suggest that you check the costs of specific downloads with your child before they go ahead.
• Opting for a prepaid phone or using an app store gift card will automatically limit the amount that can be spent.

Inappropriate content

Risks:

Although the Internet contains a lot of useful information, content that is inappropriate for children is never more than a few clicks away. Online games that glorify violence and racist or pornographic content and imagery are just a few examples. Even online services that appear harmless, like messaging services and social media, harbour risks: There are people who use false profiles to conceal their real identity and establish contact with children.

Protective measures:

Set up a profile for your child on the family PC or tablet. Assign a password to the profile and work through the following steps:
• Make sure that the browser is configured to open on a child-friendly start page such as www.internet-abc.de, www.internauten.de or www.helles-koepfchen.de. To do so, enter the relevant link in the browser settings and set it as the start page. You can find a list of child-friendly websites at www.seitenstark.de.
• You can use filters to limit how your children can use the computer. Further information on what these tools do is available in the technical protection section.
• Tell your children about the dangerous content they may encounter while browsing the Internet or using messaging services or social networks, and explain what they should do if they come across it. The Commission for Youth Media Protection provides brochures on this topic.
• Report any content you are concerned about via the websites jugendschutz.net and Internet-Beschwerdestelle. These organisations can take appropriate action against the owners of the pages in question.
• Make time to engage with your child when they are using a computer, a tablet or a smartphone, and show an interest in what they are doing online.

Cyber-mobbing

Risks:

The term "cyber-mobbing" refers to various forms of defamation, bullying, harassment and coercion of other people or organisations via the Internet, for example by e-mail, messaging services or social media. According to the JIM study for 2018, a third of the young people surveyed have encountered cyber-mobbing and have witnessed others being bullied online.

Protective measures:

• As little data as possible: Even completely innocent photos or videos can be doctored in ways that will embarrass your child. For this reason, children should place as few photos and as little personal information online as possible.
• Report mobbing: Insults, hate speech and unkind images can, in many cases, be reported directly to the service or platform on which they appeared.
• Privacy settings: Private information and photos on social networks or apps should not be visible to everybody. Go through the privacy settings with your child and make sure they know not to accept any friend requests from people they don't know.
• If the worst happens in spite of these protective measures, check our Tips for victims for help.
• Further information on cyber-mobbing can be found at klicksafe.de.