Think it through together · A little story
A girl receives a link that looks a lot like her school’s sign-in page. The robot spots an extra letter in the domain name. Familiar-looking pages can be copied.
Lay out the process
- The baitA reward or urgent notice
- The disguiseA similar page and name
- The requestA password or verification code
- VerifyGo through a known official entry point
A phishing website pretends to be a trusted service to trick people into sharing sensitive information or doing something unsafe.
Icons, colors, and names are easy to imitate, so check the full domain name and whether the request makes sense. If you receive a suspicious notice, open a known entry point yourself instead of signing in through an unfamiliar link.
If you have already entered information, tell a parent promptly and contact the real service for help.
Your turn to try
An unfamiliar link says, “Enter your password to claim a prize.” Should you look for more proof on that page, or verify through a known official entry point?
Have you thought it through? Open for an explanation
Verify independently through an official entry point you already know. Do not keep sharing information. A scammer can fake the “proof” shown on their own page.
Take away one discovery
A phishing website pretends to be a trusted service to trick people into sharing sensitive information or doing something unsafe.
Try covering the diagram above and explaining each step to someone in your family. If one step is hard to explain, go back and look at that card again.