Video games can present far more threats than merely depriving your child of sleep.
Malware is the least of your worries; financial predators, on the other hand, can wreak havoc on your life. Have you seen those supposedly free video games the internet advertises?
They have in-game purchases that require the gamer to spend real money on special abilities, upgrades, and accessories. Most banks’ ATM/debit cards are VISA-enabled, which can allow video game-related transactions. This should not be a challenge for adults spending their own money; young children are a different matter.
Connecting your card or banking information to a video game to make what you think is a one-time purchase means that your child can potentially make additional purchases in the future.
Young children won’t realize that every item they buy in the game is withdrawing real money from your account. And even if they did, your seven-year-old does not understand the value of money. Your child should not have access to any apps or devices that store your financial information because phishing attacks have become disturbingly common.
Scammers use online games to befriend naive children before tricking them into revealing vital information about their parents. That is not even the worst of it. Some scammers can use the random bits of data your children provide in friendly conversations to determine where you live and how much money you have.
What about the webcam? Most video games will ask for permission before accessing your microphone and webcam (assuming your child uses headphones to talk to other players around the world). The wrong video game can use malware to stealthily access and activate the webcam.
Scammers can also coerce younger children into giving them remote access to this vital tool. The mistake children make in these situations is to assume that a webcam stops working once they shut the video game off.
Take a moment to think about the number of sexual predators who are potentially watching your child daily. And if that does not scare you, think about what they can do with his/her face; I mean, using his image and AI technology to create pornographic content, which they can sell to other perverts.
If that is still not enough to scare you, your child is not the only potential victim. If the child plays video games from a device in your bedroom, that webcam can see everything that happens in that room, even after the child leaves.
The last thing you want is for scammers to blackmail you with your nudes. How can you mitigate these threats? Well, talk to your child. Discourage them from sharing personal information about their friends and family.
Inform them that people online are not necessarily who they claim to be. In other words, that 10-year-old friend they play against in ‘Overwatch’ could be a 50-year-old man with nefarious intentions. Engage all the relevant privacy settings (that restrict messaging and access to tools such as the microphone and webcam without your permission).
Use strong passwords and anti-malware products. Keep your banking information away from your child. If the child wants to make in-game purchases, create a separate account with limited funds. Keep an eye on what your child plays.
Try to occasionally participate in their gaming sessions to get a clear idea of the digital environment they inhabit. Encourage your child to alert you whenever an online player asks them to do anything inappropriate.
This means telling them what counts as ‘inappropriate.’ Most games have a mechanism that allows you to block and report these suspicious individuals. Just be vigilant.
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