the_drew•1mo agoMost Upvoted

My kid clicked a link in a game chat and my bank account got hit

I was at the kitchen table paying bills when my phone buzzed with three $50 charges from some random site. My son had been playing an online game and clicked a 'free coins' link a stranger sent, which must have had a keylogger. I had to freeze my card and call the bank, which took over an hour. What's the best way to talk to kids about this stuff without scaring them too much?

3 comments

3 Comments

vera_campbell1mo ago

My kids are 8 and 10 and I just told them straight up "some people on the internet are liars who want to steal your money" and they got it pretty quick. Honestly a little fear isnt the worst thing if it keeps them from clicking random garbage from strangers.

alicew681mo ago

My cousin's daughter did something similar last year, she downloaded a "free skin" app that ended up locking their family tablet with ransomware. Honestly, it took them a whole weekend to get it sorted out with the phone company. Tbh I just sat my own kids down and showed them the actual bank statement from a scam charge, the real numbers made it click for them way more than just talking about it. It's tough finding that line between a serious talk and totally freaking them out.

derekl791mo ago

My kid clicked a bad link once and our whole wifi went down for a day, it was a nightmare lol.