HELENA — October is National Cyber Security Month and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning people about online threats, and asking parents to have security conversations with their children.
There are hundreds of thousands of games and other apps available on Google Play and the App Store with most being developed by third-parties.
BBB Montana Marketplace Manager Hannah Stiff said children are some of the most at risk for being taken advantage of by predatory or fraudulent apps.
“Kids are going to be online more and more,” said Stiff. “Have those conversations about how to be safe and what to look out for.”
BBB warns that games with pop-ups that take players to another screen-- such as promising in-game currency-- can potentially be linking to a bad site.
Parents should speak with their kids about not giving out their personal information and about being careful about who they’re interacting with.
“Kids can meet on these multiplayer a host of brand new character into their lives,” explained Stiff. “It’s really up to a parent, or a trusted guardian, to have those conversations about how to interact with these people they might meet in this online gaming realm.”
Parents should stay up to date on the games and apps their children are using and teach them to create long and strong passwords.
Stiff also said to avoid giving a child any credit card or bank information.
More information about how to protect your family from mobile app scams can be found on the BBB website.
