Websites are created every day containing content that is inappropriate for children. This makes it harder for parents to protect their children; but do not fear, because there are tools to help you!

#1 – Where do I start?

The first thing you should do to protect your children is to educate yourself, and hopefully this article will help with that goal. Why is this important? Because even though there are rules and socially accepted behaviors for interacting with children, online or otherwise, many unscrupulous people will break these rules and social conventions. You don’t want your child to fall victim to this. A great place to get advice about online risks is Common Sense Media. Another useful tool, Yahoo! Safely, has a wealth of information about protecting your children and the conversations that you should have with them about electronic media.

#2 – Guide your child to a positive online experience

One of the best ways to protect your elementary age children is to help them find positive and fun sites online.  This can be done in a variety of ways. For example, you could install the free web browser Kidzui. This browser is designed to provide a safe experience for children, and it guides them to content designed for children.

#3 – How do I setup parental controls?

Both Windows and Mac users can set up parental control directly through their operating system. Windows has a free tool called Windows Live Family Safety, and a video for configuring parental controls in Windows can be found here. Mac users have the benefit of a whole suite of parental controls, and a step-by-step guide to setting it up can be found here.

#4 – How do I use search filters?

You should enable the content filter on the main search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing especially). Even if you never use one of them your children still might, and they probably will. Google and  Yahoo give you the ability to filter content, and the ability to protect your search filter with a password. This is highly encouraged because even innocent search terms can return inappropriate content or images. The password will also stop computer savvy children from changing the search filter.

YouTube is another website that your children are probably using already or will use in the future. It is one of the highest trafficked sites on the web, and it has videos on almost any subject. YouTube has a safety mode that is easy to set up and that can be secured with a password. This link provides a video showing how to set up Safety Mode for YouTube.

#5 – What about a web filter?

Web filters allow you to restrict content and they can work side by side with a search filter. A good Web Filter can also protect your family from things a search filter might miss or from accessing inappropriate content from another web site. There is a large number of Web filters, including Norton Online Family, a free product from the makers of Norton Antivirus. This product helps you keep track of what your kids are doing online and can help you teach Internet safety. One feature that really sets this product apart is the ability to log-in remotely to see what your children are doing online. You also can receive an email when something inappropriate has been accessed.

If you use Firefox, it has a fantastic plug-in called FoxFilter that will help you protect your family.  This plug-in has a free and a premium version available. There is a wealth of other options available for web filtering, including Net Nanny, CYBERsitter, and CyberPatrol.

Now what do I do?

The next step you need to take is talk to your children. Depending on their age, they may not notice the changes to the Internet, but it is still important to talk to your little ones. You need to explain that not everyone on the Internet is nice or will have their best interests in mind. It is especially important that you educate your children about protecting their private information.

While this may seem overwhelming at first, it can be tackled one step at a time. It is so important to talk to your child before anything bad happens. By doing this you will teach them the tools they need to be safer while they are online.

The Payoff

By following these steps, you will be much better equipped to understand, monitor, and control what your children are doing online. Your children need your help and support to get the most out of the  Internet.  These 5 steps will help provide your child with a much safer online experience.

The goal of this article is to help protect children. If you found this article useful, please share it with your friends and subscribe to receive future articles. We will be continuing our Online Safety for the family series soon!

We all know that not being online is no longer an option. From Facebooking, to researching trips and getting tickets or making reservations, to just doing simple research on any topic, the Internet is a necessary tool in all of our lives. There is no reason to be overly terrified, per se; it is just important to be educated and to surf the web with your eyes open.

This morning, I want to alert you to another scam that I was just alerted about via email. This one involves Visa and MasterCard credit cards.It is not necessarily an online scam, per se, but it involves your credit card and would be pretty easy to fall for if you did not know what was happening.

Here is the email I received from my dad over the weekend, who received it from a close friend of his, who…you get the idea. (We need to keep eachother informed!)

Just a heads up for everyone regarding the latest in Visa fraud. Royal Bank received this communication about the newest scam. This is happening in southern Alberta right now and moving.

This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want..

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.

This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard telephone Credit Card Scam works, you’ll be better prepared to protect yourself. One of our employees was called on Wednesday from ‘VISA’, and I was called on Thursday from ‘MasterCard’.

The scam works like this:

Person calling says – ‘This is (name), and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460, Your card has been flagged for an un usual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona ?’ When you say ‘No’, the caller continues with, ‘Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?’ You say ‘yes’.

The caller continues – ‘I will be starting a Fraud Investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. ‘Do you need me to read it again?’

Here’s the IMPORTANT par t on how the scam works – The caller then says, ‘I need to verify you are in possession of your card’. He’ll ask you to ‘turn your card over and look for some numbers’. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the last 3 are the Security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the last 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, ‘That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?’

After you say no, the caller then thanks you and states, ‘Don’t hesitate to call back if you do’, and hangs up. You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number. But af ter we were called on Wednesday, we called back. Within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we were glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card. We made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don’t give it to them. Instead, tell them you’ll call VISA or Master Card directly for verification of their conversation..

The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you’re receiving a credit; however, by the time you get your statement you’ll see charges for purchases you didn’t make, and by then it’s almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a ‘Jason Richardson of MasterCard’ with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA Scam. This time I didn’t let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said th ey are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening. I dealt with a similar situation this morning, with the caller telling me that $3,097 had been charged to my account for plane tickets to Spain , and so on through the above routine.

It appears that this Is a very active scam, and evidently quite successful.

Pass this on to all your family and friends

I’ll end by echoing the last line: pass this on to all your family and friends. Identities and credit card information get stolen left and right on an almost daily basis, both online and off. However, you can significantly decrease your risk simply by being informed and knowing what to look out for.

The scam is based on a very believable situation that preys on the unemployed. Why is it so believable? The scam actually includes a wire transfer of a high dollar amount to your personal checking account.

Listen below to my explanation of this scam, which I gave recently on Day Break USA Radio. (Or, skip the video and read the walk through below.)

The job board scam is a two-part crime.  First, the scammers solicit an individual in the job market to become the “country manager” for a foreign company wanting to enter the US.  The scam includes seeding the new country manager’s account with an amount as high as $100K to pay expenses and take a signing bonus.

Almost sounds good, right?

The problem is that the final part of the scam involves the funds being stolen, and the story quickly unravels from there. Ultimately, the “new country manager” is left holding the bag.

Part 1 – Ripping Off A Legitimate Business via A Fraudulent Wire

Internet hackers are constantly sending out links to information that could range from “Learn How To Make Money Online” to “Your Post Office Has A Package For You”.  When a user clicks on a link from a computer that isn’t properly protected, the link drops software on their computer that becomes a keystroke reader.  With thousands of these planted, the hacker looks for banking logins and information that they can use to initiate a wire transfer from a personal or business account.

Let’s say that ACME Widgets falls victim to this.   What takes place is that a sum of $100K is wired from their account to another person’s account in the US.

Now let’s go on to part two to learn who that person is in the job board scam.

Part 2 – The Job Seeker Gets a Country Manager Job

Once the scammer has access to funds from a business, as I described in part 1, they then go to a major job board and post an opening for a new country manager.  Once they get some applicants, they make an offer to one that includes a $10K signing bonus.  Since the company is “foreign” and looking to open their subsidiary in the US, they need to send the new country manager a large sum of cash to do things such as: 1) open an entity; 2) pay suppliers; and, 3) pay for the signing bonus.

What makes this scam very believable is that the new hire actually gets a real wire transfer for $100K into their account. Where did it come from?  ACME Widgets, the business that got ripped off in part 1.

After the money is transfered, the employer begins urgently pressing the new hire to pay suppliers in various states across the US.  This is all done via wire transfer.  The problem is that the routing and account information for the suppliers really isn’t where they say it is.  It could be U.S. locations or foreign entities, but all of this money is going into the hands of the crooks.

Within days, the business who was originally ripped off works with their bank to find out why a large sum of money was wired from their account.  This leads them to the new country manager, who is informed there was a mistake or a flat-out scam.  The problem is they no longer have the money to pay the bank back; it was sent to the crooks. Being unemployed is the least of their problems as they now owe a bank $100K.

If you have been propositioned by this scam or seen job postings or email soliciations that look like it, report it to the FBI at the IC3 website.

Learning From A to Z’s Online Safety series is dedicated to providing information and online safety tips in order to promote online safety for family and kids.  You can subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog in order to receive new posts as they become available by going to http://mslearnco.com/efeed.

Learning From A to Z’s Online Safety series is dedicated to providing information and online safety tips in order to promote online safety for family and kids.  You can subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog in order to receive new posts as they become available by going to http://mslearnco.com/efeed .

Learning From A to Z’s Online Safety series is dedicated to providing information and online safety tips in order to promote online safety for family and kids.  You can subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog in order to receive new posts as they become available by going to http://mslearnco.com/efeed .

As I stated in our launch of the Family Online Safety series, we view every dollar lost and every moment spent dealing with online safety issues as time and resources that could be spent in a quality manner with your children.  In this post we are going to cover traditional paper checks and explain why they have surged in popularity amongst scammers and criminals.

This past year I attended a presentation from the US Secret Service that was sponsored by The Schreiber Crime Watch in North Dallas.  In this presentation the US Secret Service Agent reviewed a number of popular scams, and the one that shocked me the most involved paper checks.  Basically, he walked over to my table and dropped a handful of checks on the table.  These checks included cashiers checks, US Treasury checks (e.g. IRS), and even checks drawable on large US banks.  He then asked, “Which of these is fake?”  Looking through the high quality paper loaded full of special color fibers and watermarks, I had a hard time figuring out the culprit.  Then he dropped the bomb and said, “They are all fake!”

Below is what criminals are doing and how you can be at risk.

Criminals are using high quality scanners to create checks based on real institutions.  These checks have micro printing, watermarks, and all of the official features of real checks — many even have real account and routing numbers stolen in ID theft rings.  Their goal is to catch you in a situation of urgency to where it takes weeks for you to figure out that their check is a fake, yet you have already taken financial action with funds of your own. Here is an example:

You decide to put a flat screen TV on eBay or Craig’s list since you have gotten a new one or are moving and cannot take this one with you.  A person buys the TV or expresses interest and begins a dialogue with you.  Then, you get a FedEx with a check made out for an amount that is higher than your asking price (e.g. double).  Then comes the story.

“I am so sorry! We were looking at another size TV that was twice as much and my wife didn’t realize we were buying yours via PayPal and sent out this check before she headed out of town.  The problem is that since it is a cashier’s check, our bank has taken that money from us and I need it to pay you for the TV and our rent which is due today.  Here is what is easiest to clean this up and I am so sorry. . . “

Now, you might be one step ahead of this, and the scenarios can vary, but here is what they are looking to pull off:

• Engage with you in a legitimate business transaction; generally one you have initiated like a sublease or the sale of merchandise.
• Create a situation in which you have an official check or money order in your hands.
• Fabricate a story with a sense of urgency.  They can go as far as getting upset and threatening your eBay seller rating with a bad review.
• They ask you to cash their check, which is fake, and send your funds, which are good, to them.  By the time their check comes back as fake, they are long gone with your money.

Even if you are not selling something online, these scenarios are as bold as sending you a refund from the IRS and then an “agent” contacts you and ask you to wire the money back since it is a an error.   Of course, neither the check nor the agent have anything to do with the IRS and the wire transfer information leads to an institution outside the country.

Here are a couple of rules of thumb you should follow to avoid being the victim of a fraudulent check:

1. Avoid receiving paper checks if you can.  Use a form of payment where a financial institution, such as PayPal, provides a guarantee against fraud.
2. Understand that just because a check clears does not mean it is good.  This sometimes takes weeks to play out.
3. If you cash a check from someone you do not know, work with your bank and hold off on fulfilling your end of the bargain for at least two weeks.  Check with your bank one last time before you send the merchandise or fulfill your half of the bargain.
4. If you are selling a car and are taking a cashier’s check or money order, conduct the transaction at their bank so you can see the check being made.

Again, if you fall victim to one of these scams, the money lost could be the equivalent of a year of tutoring, private lessons, or special activities for your child, and the time away from your children while dealing with this can never be recuperated.

In the late 1990s, while still an employee at Microsoft, I served as one of four volunteers on a joint Federal and local cyber crime task force that ended up netting out one of the largest child indency stings in US history.  You can read about Operation Avalanche on Wikipedia.   This also led to one of the biggest law enforcement blunders ever in the UK through a related operation referred to as Operation Ore.  Though the details of these cases are deep, it did open my eyes to the dangers of the Internet for both children and adults.

Furthermore, prior to acquiring Learning From A to Z, both Jerod and I dedicated our time to a digital marketing agency that we own and operate.  As a part of this, we got called into quite a few corporate clients who had been presented with troubling online situations, including: harassment; extortion; and flat out hacking.  Due to the nature of the work, we kept up with contacts in law enforcement and have been privy to their information on cyber crime and scams.

So, the question you probably have in your mind is: What does this have to  do with children and learning? We look at the answer to this question as a two-fold response.

• Computers and the Internet are a part of mainstream education in schools and home schooling.  As a member of my child’s education and technology board at school, I can tell you that there is a constant need for collaboration between educators and parents as cyber safety is an ongoing topic.
• Adults in the family are likely to be at a higher risk of cyber safety issues than children.  We view every dollar lost in a scam and every moment spent dealing with a cyber issue as time and resources that are taken away from educational time that adults could be spending with their children.  It also introduces stress into the household, which is a flat out distraction for little minds.

We are pleased to be announcing the launch of our Family Online Safety series via this blog post and with Scott West on Day Break Radio this Monday.  We’ll post a YouTube video of the show on this blog once it is available.  We’ll also be launching our first blog post in the series entitled “Fake Checks – An Eye Opener for Parents”

There are an endless number of joyful traditions families participate in over the holidays, which is why our collective love for Christmas and the holiday season is so boundless.

However, there is one tradition that I think we all can agree has overstayed its welcome*: the garishly ugly Christmas sweater. You know the ones I’m talking about. And if you don’t, all have to do is look below, because we have put together a gallery of some of the most awful Christmas sweaters ever photographed. And make sure you go all the way to the end. We saved the two best for last.

Perhaps instead of just chestnuts roasting on an open fire, we should toss these sweaters on there too…

This first picture, along with one more below, is posted courtesy of http://www.MyUglyChristmasSweater.com:

Via: http://www.MyUglyChristmasSweater.com 

And now, as promised, I saved the next two pictures for the end as a reward for those of you who scrolled all the way down.

I’m not sure that there are really words to describe what is going on in the first one, except to say that she must have been forced to wear that nefarious sweater against her will and it’s not cool for the man to make her then be photographed in it. Bad form sir.

And finally, there is the man whose smile and sweater for a sublime manifestation of the Christmas spirit.

Kudos to you Epic Christmas Sweater Guy. Your unabashed joy and unbridled Christmas sweater enthusiasm almost makes me want to take back every condescending word I said above and go pull on an ugly sweater right now.

Almost.

* – You know what, after going the process of finding and posting all of these pictures, one thing stood out: everyone is smiling from ear to ear while being photographed wearing the hideously ugly sweaters. So I guess it’s not a tradition that we could all agree to do without it. In fact, it seems like everyone is pretty well happy with it (except for the crying woman) and that the tradition of ugly sweaters on Christmas is just one more example of how powerful the Christmas spirit can be and how the joyful the holiday season is.

1. Talk with your child about what they really want.  Make sure they understand there are limits in terms of the price of certain toys and overall quantities.
2. Help them to rationalize through real world constraints by asking them questions about why they like certain gifts and what they plan to do with it.
3. Avoid using the word No and restrict your role to helping them refine their list.
4. Ensure they consider the future (upcoming birthday, next Christmas, etc) so that dreams can stay alive.
5. Ensure that their is variety in their gift selections (quiet time toys, sports, reading, board games, video, etc)

The Christmas season with children is an amazing time.  With a little upfront discussion, the expectations can be achieved with your child’s gift list helping to minimize disappointments after Santa has come and gone.