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JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
Helping your kids protect their identity online
Sydney 27 August, 2009: Banks and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are encouraging parents to have a discussion with children about online safety and protecting their identity from criminals.
The Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) and the AFP’s High Tech Crime Operations have prepared a fact sheet, ‘Protect your kids online’, which outlines some of the threats that exist online. It also provides some practical tips on how to talk to your children about these issues.
This security information is something that every parent can tell their children and is no different to teaching children to buckle-up in the car or why they should be careful of approaches from strangers.
David Bell, Chief Executive of the ABA, said: “As a parent myself, I wouldn’t claim to be up to speed with all the latest technology. However, I do want to provide my children with good, basic safety advice. Parents can discuss safe online practices with their kids and how they can protect themselves from criminals who operate over the Internet and mobile phones.”
“Banks are interested in this issue because children can reveal a lot about themselves, their families and their friends by revealing too much information. By parents encouraging safe Internet use in their kids from an early age, criminals will find it harder to make your children the victims of identity theft.”
It is unfortunate that some people who have had their identities ‘taken over’ or stolen by a criminal have inadvertently assisted the compromise themselves by sharing too much information, including by responding to phishing emails, instant messaging or posting too much personal information about themselves online.
For example, if your child includes his or her date of birth, address, telephone numbers and email account details – this can be more than enough information for criminals to ‘take over’ their identity and use it in the commission of other crimes.
Neil Gaughan, Acting Assistant Commissioner High Tech Crime Operations, said: “In terms of online child exploitation, the criminal could use this information to befriend your child in an Internet chat room for sexual purposes. This is why it is important to have a discussion with your children about what is appropriate to publish online or send via mobile phone.”
“You can’t always be there to monitor your kids 24/7, so it is important as parents to do as much as you can to help your kids to help themselves.”
Some safety tips parents might share with their children include:
- Don’t post too much information online – online social networking can be a great way for kids to exchange photos, expand their networks and pursue new interests. However, publishing personal information online comes with risks attached. It gives criminals access to information which they can use to steal your identity and commit a range of crimes. Make sure social networking profiles are private and suggest that children limit their online friends to only those they know in the real world.
- Don’t answer questions with too much information – such as when responding to questions over the Internet or when using instant messaging, in chat rooms or blogs or by responding to phishing emails and online scams.
- Be careful in choosing screen names - choose screen names which do not reveal too much personal detail or an email address. Do not choose anything that reveals gender, location or age.
- People aren’t always who they say they are - not everyone online is honest. You need to help your children understand that, even though they may believe they are communicating with a person claiming they are a young person, a criminal could be deceiving them. The anonymity of the Internet allows criminals to pretend to be someone they are not.
- Be very careful about publishing photos online or sending them via phone – children should be careful about publishing photos of themselves, their friends and family on the Internet. Just remember, it’s not only the people whom you want to share these photos that may be able to see them. Photos posted on the Internet or sent by mobile phone may be accessible to people you don’t know and can make it easier for a stranger to find you or to impersonate you.
- Don’t publish your email address online – this is a major cause of receiving unsolicited email. These emails are often phishing scams.
- Treat all unsolicited email with caution – it is very important to be sceptical about emails asking for personal information or which ask you to go to or click on a link to a certain website. Caution must be taken with ‘phishing emails’ which are seemingly authentic messages that appear to have come from banks, other financial institutions or legitimate businesses but are designed to lure recipients into divulging personal data such as bank account numbers and passwords. Everyone, including children, should be wary of unsolicited email.
- Do not click on a link in an email - open your browser and type the address.
- Discuss where your child can and can’t go on the Internet – just as you would discuss why your child cannot watch a movie rated ‘R’ or ‘MA’ or ‘M’ , it is a good idea to have a conversation about the content they might access on the Internet. Advice for anyone who has come across Internet content they feel might is inappropriate or illegal may be found at the Australian Communications and Media Authority: www.acma.gov.au.
- Ensure your child knows they can talk to you about anything they experience online – it’s important that you explain to your children that, if they are concerned about what they have done or what they have seen online, they can come and speak to you and that you’ll understand and help them deal with the issue.
This fact sheet will be distributed to parent groups in all States and Territories which are associated with schools.
The AFP is implementing a program called ‘ThinkUKnow’ – www.thinkuknow.org.au - an Internet safety program delivering interactive training to parents, carers and teachers through primary and secondary schools in the ACT, NSW and Victoria using a network of accredited trainers. The ThinkUKnow will be available across Australia in 2010.
This fact sheet is available on following websites - Australian Bankers’ Association: www.bankers.asn.au and Australian Federal Police: www.afp.gov.au
For further information:
ABA PR, Heather Wellard - T: 02 8298 0411 M: 0409 830 439
AFP National Media Team - P: (02) 6275 7100
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