Online safety for parents: OTPs, scams, games and social media

Safety starts at home, and with you

Children now meet the internet earlier than any generation before them: through a parent's phone, an online class, a game with friends or a short video. Most of it is harmless and useful. A small part is not, and the dangers are not only for children. Many online frauds target adults, and children who see a parent hand over an OTP to a stranger learn the wrong lesson.

The best online safety is a mixture of a few firm rules, an open attitude and good habits that the whole family shares.

The OTP and payment rules

These rules are simple and have no exceptions. Teach them to every family member, including grandparents who use UPI.

1. Never share an OTP, PIN, password or card number with anyone, even if they say they are from a bank, a courier, a government office or your child's school. Real banks do not ask for them.
2. You enter your UPI PIN only to send money, never to receive it. If someone says "enter your PIN to get the refund", it is a scam.
3. Do not scan a QR code or click a payment link to receive money.
4. Do not install an app or screen-sharing tool because a caller tells you to.
5. A message that creates panic, such as "your account will be blocked in one hour", is a warning sign. Hang up, wait, and call your bank on the number printed on your card.
6. Prizes, lotteries, work-from-home tasks that pay for likes and offers that are too good to be true are almost always scams.

If you are cheated online

Act quickly. Call your bank at once, using the number on the card or the official site, to block the card or account. Then call the national cyber crime helpline 1930 and report the fraud on the official reporting portal, cybercrime.gov.in. Keep screenshots, phone numbers, account details and transaction numbers. Reporting early gives the best chance that the money can be stopped. Do not feel ashamed; fraudsters are skilled and they fool educated people every day.

Online games

Games can build skills and friendships, but they also have chat features, in-game purchases and strangers. Play a round with your child and see what the game does. Check the age rating, turn on parental controls where available, and set the chat to friends only or off for younger children. Make it a rule that no purchases are made without permission and that card or UPI details are never saved on a child's device. Tell your child never to share their address, school name, photographs or phone number with anyone they meet in a game, and never to meet an online friend without telling you. If a game stranger asks for private pictures, talks about secrets or makes your child uncomfortable, your child should tell you at once, and should not be punished for telling.

Social media and age rules

Most social media platforms set a minimum age in their own terms of service, and for many it is thirteen, though some features and services have different or higher limits. Check the rules on any app before your child uses it, and remember that the age rule exists for a reason: these platforms were not designed with younger children in mind. If a child under the age limit is using an account with a false birthdate, talk about it calmly and decide as a family what to do.

For older children and teenagers, talk about privacy settings, what to post and what not to, how photos can spread, and how comments can hurt. Teach them to think before they share: would I be comfortable if my teacher, my grandmother or a future employer saw this? Encourage them to keep accounts private, accept only people they know and block and report anyone who bothers them.

Bullying, threats and blackmail

Tell your child that if anyone online threatens them, asks for money, or demands pictures, it is not their fault, and they should not reply or pay. Save screenshots, block the person, and tell you or a teacher. Report crimes to 1930, and the cyber crime portal. For a child who feels unsafe or needs help, Childline 1098 is available. Do not take the phone away as a punishment for telling you, or your child may stop telling you.

Good habits for the whole family

• Use a screen lock and a strong, unique password for each important account, and turn on two-step verification.
• Keep phones and apps updated and install apps only from the official store.
• Keep the family computer or tablet in a shared room for younger children.
• Talk about what you saw online at dinner, the good and the bad, so talking is normal.
• Check the website address before entering any login or payment details.

Teach through conversations, not only rules

Ask your child to explain a favourite app to you. Ask what they would do if a stranger messaged them. Practise saying no, switching off and telling an adult. The more normal these conversations are, the sooner your child will bring a problem to you instead of hiding it. Our free lessons on staying safe online, passwords and two-factor authentication are written for children and can be read together.