Next Monday will be the first day of class for many Iowa schools, which means more time online for kids, creating more opportunities for scammers.
Khesha Duncan, spokeswoman for the Better Business Bureau, says Iowa families need to be prepared.
“Talking about privacy policies and terms of agreement,” Duncan says, “making sure they understand what that means before they click on something. What are cookies?”
Parents are encouraged to talk with their children about suspicious messages and safe internet habits at an early age, as they need to know about the risks.
“They’re into gaming and oftentimes they’ll download apps because those apps will be advertised free,” Duncan says, “and they don’t realize that if they’re successful at the game or they keep playing and they may move into paid portions of the app and not even realize it.”
Many children click “accept” online without reading the fine print, and Duncan says parents need to help them understand what they’re agreeing to.
“What’s location and log file information? What does it mean to monetize? Do a Google search together. Some of the parents don’t always know what it means either,” she says. “It’s a good opportunity to sit down with your students and everybody get on the same page.”
She urges parents to monitor their children’s online activity, and adds, parents don’t need to have all the answers. Instead, families should take time to learn about internet safety together.