10.24.2024 Brittani Yeager
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Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes
In today’s digitally centric world, it’s easy to see the benefits of identity protection for adults.
Adults regularly use the internet to send money to their friends and family, pay their utility bills, complete their taxes, and engage with their connections on social media. But adults aren’t alone in this use of the internet – children rely on the world wide web as well.
Children are big users of the internet. From a global perspective, it’s estimated that one in three children is an internet user and that one in three internet users is a child under 18 years of age. While the use of the internet can bring many conveniences, the internet can also be a playground for things like malicious content, cyberbullying, and bad actors seeking to prey on unsuspecting individuals for things such as identity theft and fraud – which isn’t limited to adults. In fact, 1 in 50 U.S. children were victims of identity fraud, and 1 in 45 had personal information that was exposed in a data breach according to Javelin Strategy & Research. And that’s just from this past year.With so many children using the internet, it’s important that your customers actively monitor their children’s use of internet-connected devices, implement restrictions for certain sites and social media platforms, and regularly talk with their children about the potential risks in utilizing the internet and internet-connected devices.
During our webinar, “Keeping Families Safe Online: Protecting Children from Identity Fraud & Cybercrime,” a panel of thought leaders shared their insights on the child identity fraud landscape, how unrestricted internet access can put children at risk, best practices for sharing information online, particularly on social media, and much more.
“I have two small children, and one of the first things I did was freeze their credit… I think it's something that's fairly simple to do, but the average person doesn't think about. I live and breathe this every day, [so] it was on the top of my list. But I think that, that in and of itself is a really powerful thing to be able to do to provide some protection to them.” – Eugenia Blackstone, Chief Marketing Officer with Iris Powered by Generali
“Let's lead by example. If we practice safe online behaviors, if we don't overshare on our own social media platforms, we’re setting a good example for our children. And that was one of the things that we found in the study was just putting too much information out on social media, accepting friend requests from people you don’t know personally in real life, IRL. This is what puts children at greatest risk. So, just educating children and talking with them about safe online behaviors is really the key.” – Tracy Kitten, Director of Fraud & Security with Javelin Strategy & Research
“Facebook had one of the biggest data breaches ever. Last year, 858 million individuals had their personal information exposed just because they signed up for a Facebook account. So, it's something that children need to be made aware of, and adults, parents, you want to be aware of that as well. All these different services that your children are signing up for, they’re potentially at risk, not just because they're using the service, but because of the information that they provided to sign up for the service.” – Malcolm Webb, Team Lead with Iris Powered by Generali
Fraud prevention resources for your customer’s family
According to the Pew Research Center, 66% of parents in the U.S. say that parenting is harder today than it was 20 years ago. With the increased use of the internet and internet-connected devices, it can be challenging for anyone to stay ahead of scammer's tricks and tools, let alone knowing how to navigate a discussion with children about these pitfalls.
In fact, when polling the live audience, 47% of attendees stated they talk to their child(ren) often about internet safety, particularly after an incident has occurred, while 40% stated they let their child come to them with questions/concerns. With data breaches making the headlines on a near daily basis, your company can be the hero in your customer’s life by providing them comprehensive identity and cyber protection that includes free educational resources to help them and their children navigate our digitally connected world.
Watch the full webinar to hear more expert insights as well as tips you can share with your customers to help them limit their families’ risk of falling victim to fraud. And be sure to check out Javelin Strategy & Research’s free whitepaper for a more in-depth look at some of the research shared in the recording.
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