“Hey – I thought you might like this” is written in the email subject, sender “Julia”. This email seems harmless, but one click is enough and the computer is infected with a virus or private data has been shared involuntarily. We are talking about spam mails. How can you recognize spam and how can you best protect your children from the dangers in unsolicited mail?
Spam mails are unsolicited advertising mails sent en masse. These clog up the e-mail inbox in particular.
Phishing emails are also sent without prompting. These camouflage themselves with reputable-looking, well-known names and logos. They aim to tap into the recipient’s personal data such as passwords, credit card numbers or PINs. Mail addresses of well-known providers such as Paypal or Amazon are often used, requesting links to follow in order to prevent supposed cancellations or to comply with requests for payment.
Malware emails hide their danger in the attachment: it contains viruses or malicious software that can harm your computer when opened.
Spam mails also include so-called dialer programs, better known as chain letters. These ask recipients to forward these chain letters en masse, which puts a strain on email traffic.
In the meantime, children and young people also frequently need e-mail addresses to log on to learning platforms or online games, for example. This means that they are also exposed to the dangers of spam mails. Spam emails often exploit the curiosity of their recipients by luring them with bright colors, special offers or alarming warnings.
Legal advertising e-mails, for example, must always contain a link that can be used to unsubscribe from the e-mail distribution list. You should never click on it in spam emails. This only confirms the validity of the email address. Your child would receive even more unwanted spam.
It can be helpful to discuss with your child how sensitive and vulnerable their own e-mail address is. They should not publish their e-mail address on the Internet, but should provide it as rarely as possible on websites. Create different email addresses for your child, for example, the official school address should not be used for games. Enable virus protection on your computer and all of your child’s devices, as well as spam filtering in their email inbox.
However, these measures do not provide complete protection against spam, so it is important to be able to recognize spam and deal with it properly.
Take the 3-point check of the Federal Office for Information Security with your child on how to handle e-mails. This allows you and your child to quickly check if it is safe to open an email or attachment.
On the phishing radar of the consumer center you can inform yourself if you discover a strange mail in your child’s mailbox.
Explain to your child that he/she should always carefully go through the mails and never open possible spam mails. Instead, check together if it is a spam and then delete the mail immediately.
Chain letters are not a new phenomenon. Nowadays, however, they are spread via social networks and messenger services. For many children who use WhatsApp chain letters are a natural part of their lives. Some kids receive several chain letters a day, funny or creepy, usually riddled with spelling and typing errors.
Many messages are nice and make you smile or are intended to make it clear that you care about the reader. But there are also such chain letters that can put your child under pressure or even cause fear and panic. So-called “social barometers” are designed to show the sender of chain letters how popular he or she is:
“Send this letter to 12 wonderful girls (including me) and see how many times you get it back and see how many true friends you have. One to two: well, there are better ones. Two to three: Okay, you have some. Four to five: You have enough true friends.”
Chain letters often also contain threats and warnings about what can happen if the message is not forwarded. These are particularly frightening to children and young people. Some of them tell short horror stories and always end with sentences like “Send this message on, otherwise I’ll kill you!”. Threatening to harm friends or family is also one of the classic ways to create pressure and fear.
“If you love your mom send this to 20 people. One girl ignored this and her mom died in 365 days. Sorry I can’t ignore this because I love my mom. Shame on you if you don’t”.
These creepy messages are now also available as audio chain letters. That is, a distorted computer voice threatens the recipient with murder or bodily harm unless the audio file is forwarded to a certain number of contacts. These types of chain letters can be particularly scary for children.
Therefore, it is important to talk to your child about chain letters. Explain that not forwarding will not have any consequences and this kind of messages are just a very bad joke. You can also send a message to the sender together and educate about the background of chain letters. If such a message was sent from an unknown number, the number should be blocked directly. Then messages from this person will not be delivered.
If you would like to read more about the topic, you can get more information at saferinternet.at, for example.
