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Cyber Insights Today July 9, 2024
Hosted by Richard Freiberg
Privacy and Security
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1913940/episodes/15167076
I am Richard Freiberg. Today we will be addressing a recent Wall Street Journal article which highlighted another place where kids are vulnerable to harm unless parents coordinate to protect them. The topic was cyber-security. Teenagers spend a third of their day sleeping, a third in school and a third surfing or gaming on the internet. The report reveals that hackers are starting to target kids for personal data primarily because they don’t assess risk very well. Adults are improving in assessing cyber risk (although still have a long way to go given the current landscape). I often field a question – how can my kid be phished if they don’t have bank accounts or credit cards?
They often have access to those account numbers because the “house provides.” And assuming they know their social security numbers, most kids don’t appreciate that those nine digits are the Holy Grail. Armed with some combination of these numbers, hackers open credit lines on behalf of the teenagers living in your home or finding ways to make use of your Amazon or Target card because you told your kid to use your account for the latest investment in collectible sneakers.
What parents often don’t realize is that their children are adept at playing both sides of their parents. In other words, they finagle both parents to provide credit/debit card access because it means designer sneakers in each house.
The article suggests that it may be time to have that kind of conversation with your co-parent and a sit-down session with your kids to explain that they either need to get their parents to do the transactions or undertake adult levels of diligence when they are doing any transaction online. Otherwise, they may find themselves graduating high school with a credit score of 500 because someone in Europe or Asia has opened accounts and run debts without the child even knowing the transactions occurred.
So, the annual to do list now includes not just getting your free credit report but one for the child as well. Your kid may not love your approach, they will respect your due diligence (especially one day when they become a parent). The article is in the Cybersecurity insert to the Wall Street Journal published 3/18/24. Information regarding your credit history and that of your child is at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
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DON’T BECOME ANOTHER STATISTIC!
Richard Freiberg
Profitability Consultant
Richard Freiberg CPA PC
Phone (980)339-3352
Cell (914)393-0033
www.rmfreibergcpa.com
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6 thoughts on “Cyber Insights Today July 9, 2024”
Kids need guidance on online safety and understanding cyber risks. Good insights!
Kids need guidance on online safety. Parents should discuss risks together to protect their family’s financial information.
Important insights on children’s safety.
Kids need to be safe online! Let’s talk to them! 😊
While safety is important, kids also need the freedom to explore and learn from their online experiences.
Online dangers can outweigh the benefits of unrestricted exploration.