Thinkabara

🛡️ Internet Safety for Kids · Lesson 4 of 7

Strangers online

Google Classroom

Who is behind the screen, strange requests and meeting up.

You can’t see who it is

Online, anyone can say they are 11 years old, use any photo and any name. Someone who is “a kid from another school” in a game chat may really be an adult.

Red flags

Secrets“Don’t tell your parents about me”
GiftsOffers of game currency, skins or money
PhotosAsks for pictures, especially private ones
Moving apps“Let’s talk on another app”
MeetingWants to meet in real life

The rules

  1. Play and chat with people you know in real life
  2. Never send photos to people you only know online
  3. Never agree to meet someone from online without a parent
  4. If someone makes you uncomfortable, stop, block and tell an adult
  5. You will never be in trouble for telling

If someone asks for photos

Never send them, even if they threaten or say they will hurt themselves. It is not your fault. Tell a parent right away, keep the messages as proof, and report it to the platform and to the NCMEC CyberTipline (report.cybertip.org).

Tip

💡 A good friend never asks you to keep secrets from your parents.

✏️ Practice: your turn

  1. Check privacy settings in a game together: who can message you?
  2. Practice saying: “I don’t talk to people I don’t know”
  3. Talk about a secret that is OK (a surprise party) and one that is not
  4. Agree on a family code word for “I need help” in a text

🧠 Quick quiz

Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.

1. Someone online says “don’t tell your parents about me.” This is…
2. Someone you met in a game wants to meet. What do you do?
3. Someone online asks for a photo of you. You…
4. Will you get in trouble for telling an adult?

0 of 4 correct

All lessons in Internet Safety for Kids

  1. 🔑 1. A strong passwordHow to make a password that is hard to guess, and who may know it
  2. 🙊 2. What not to sharePersonal details, photos and location
  3. 🎣 3. Scams and suspicious linksFake prizes, urgent messages and strange links
  4. 👤 4. Strangers onlineWho is behind the screen, strange requests and meeting up
  5. 🫂 5. Cyberbullying and group chatsWhat to do when someone hurts you or a friend online
  6. 🎮 6. Games, purchases and screen timeIn-game purchases, loot boxes and when to stop
  7. 🗣️ 7. Telling a trusted adultWhy to tell, who to tell, and what to say