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Internet and social website Safety

The Internet and social websites are part of everyday life, but it could be dangerous and you should ensure your safety online. Children are especially susceptible to the threats that the Internet and social networking websites present. By teaching children about Internet safety, being aware of their online habits and guiding them to appropriate websites, parents can make sure that their children become safe and responsible users on social networking websites.

: LET US KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE ONLINE • As Child Protection Month continues, Government urges parents and caregivers to actively monitor and guide children’s online activities. • Children must be taught to safeguard personal information and avoid sharing private details, images or locations online. • Parents and guardians should use parental controls and regularly update privacy settings on all devices. • Cell phones are tools, not toys; parents should set boundaries, limit screen time, and promote offline activities. • Check your child’s contacts and social media regularly. Monitor the Apps your child downloads and uses. • Encourage children to speak openly about their online experiences and report suspicious content or behaviour. • Government established the Cybersecurity Hub to promote a safe and secure digital environment for all South Africans. • For more information on the Cybersecurity Hub and how to report suspicious activities, visit: https://www.dcdt.gov.za/cybersecurity-hub-project.html

Social media acronyms that parents should know
Most of the acronyms listed below have sexual meanings and motives behind them and may be used by predators. Many of the acronyms also show that teens have ways to make sure you do not catch a glimpse of something they may be sending or posting. The list below is only a mere sample of acronyms used on social media websites. There are various websites that provide updated lists which you should take note of.
GNOC - Get Naked On Cam
TDTM - Talk Dirty To Me
NIFOC - Naked In Front Of Computer
PAW - Parents Are Watching
PIR - Parent In Room
POS - Parent Over Shoulder
CD9/Code 9 - Parent/Adult around
ASL(R P) - Age Sex Location (Race/Picture)
(L)MIRL  - (Let us) meet in real life
MOS - Mom Over Shoulder
P911 - Parent emergency
PRON - Porn
S2R - Send To Receive (pictures)
FYEO – For Your Eyes Only

Follow this link for more internet safety tips from SAPS.

Tips:

  • Phishing sites and emails often ask for information that a Bank would never ask you for or will never request you to update, such as personal or banking information.
  • Never give your personal details to anyone without verifying their identity. You should view emails and pop-up windows asking for your personal information with the same amount of suspicion you would the person behind you in an ATM queue.
  • Treat emails that appear to be from a Bank asking for personal details with suspicion. Never reply to their email or get into a conversation with them.
  • Never provide your personal details, for example, your PIN or account details, by email.
  • Do not follow any links in emails to reach Internet banking websites. Malicious software could redirect the link to a fake site.
  • Always enter your bank's website address (i.e. www.standardbank.co.za) in the address bar to connect to your Internet banking site.
  • Do not create shortcuts on your desktop to Internet Banking. Malicious software could redirect the shortcut to a fake site.
  • Never disclose private information when social networking.
  • Be wary about who you invite or accept invitations from when social networking..
  • Be careful about clicking on links in an email or social networking posts.
  • Make sure children are educated about the risks of going online.
  • Get to know and use parental control settings.

Cybercrime Survival Tips:

  1. Use your common sense - If it looks too good to be true... it probably is.
  2. Keep your software up to date - Software updates very often contain critical security vulnerability fixes!
  3. Install antivirus on all devices - Do not install more than one antivirus per device!
  4. Inspect links before clicking - Banks will never request your password via email.
  5. Don’t open email or attachments from untrusted sources - Always be suspicious when opening emails and their attachments.
  6. Review app permissions before installing an application - Do the permissions requested by the app make sense?
  7. Create strong and unique passwords - Enable passwords on all your devices: laptops, mobile phones and tablets.
  8. Protect your data - Back-up and protect your valuable data
  9. Log off - Do NOT check ‘Keep Me Logged In’ or ‘Remember Me’
  10. Be cautious when using Bluetooth & Wi-Fi - Only turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when you need it.

Useful links:

Tips to keep your children safe

Train your child to be cyber smart so that they can recognise potential dangers and know how to avoid threatening situations.

  • never arrange or agree to any face-to-face meeting with any person they met online;
  • never post to the Internet, or send to people they do not personally know, any pictures of themselves;
  • never give out any personal information about themselves, even if the information seems unimportant and innocent, to any person online;
  • never download pictures from an unknown source since there could be sexually explicit images;
  • never respond to messages online that are sexually suggestive, obscene, aggressive or harassing;
  • never believe as true anything that may be said by people online. Remind them that people online are not always who they pretend to be and paedophiles are adept at pretending to be of the same age as your child;
  • never open email attachments unless they know the person sending them and know what they contain, and
  • never enter a private chat room.

Read more on the FPB website.

PLAY YOUR PART TO STOP CYBER BULLYING AND SEXTING

Parents are urged to play a role and be aware of the type of technologies and social media platforms that are used by children and to monitor the type of content that is shared on these platforms.

Let’s stop cyber bullying and sexting! Report anyone who is a suspected perpetrator of cyber bullying and sexting.

WHERE TO SEEK HELP OR REPORT CYBER BULLYING AND SEXTING?

  • Call the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on 012 315 1111
  • Call Childline on 080 005 5555
  • Call Lifeline on 011 728 1347
  • Report a case to the South African Police Services 10111 or 086 001 0111

How to spot spam

Spam emails may feature some of the following warning signs:

  • You don’t know the sender.
  • Contains misspellings (for example ‘p0rn’ with a zero) designed to fool spam filters.
  • Makes an offer that seems too good to be true, such as Lotto, inheritance or SARS payouts.
  • The subject line and contents do not match.
  • Contains an urgent offer end date (for example “Buy now and get 50% off”).
  • Contains a request to forward an email to multiple people, and may offer money for doing so.
  • Contains a virus warning.
  • Contains attachments, which could include .exe files.

All 419 scams and letters can be reported to SAPS (Tel 012 393 1203 or e-mail: 419scam@saps.org.za )