Kids targeted by short video scammers
Internet is not a safe space. As a farther I am constantly worried about how vulnerable the growing generation is to everything that is evil online. The kids and teens of today have grown up with smartphones and take constant online access for granted. The devices and apps are such a commonplace technology for them, that most seem to lack genuine interest on how these things actually work and what are the risks involved.
During this summer I have witnessed two different short video phishing scams that specifically target kids. I both cases the scammers used a video that seemingly covered popular games, namely Minecraft and Brawl Stars.
Notification spamming
The first scammer showed a QR-code in the video, promising free bonus items for Brawl Stars if one would scan and open the link. The link actually to the user to a malicious website that started sending notifications about the phone being infected with a virus, urging the user to do something about it. Luckily this type of attack is easily mitigated. These steps work for Chrome on Android, and on Apple devices there should be something similar available.
- Open the Chrome app.
- Tap More ⋮ > Settings.
- Tap Site Settings > Notifications.
- Tap the suspicious site, then Block or Remove.
It may also be a good idea to clear the browser cache.
Pointing the unsuspecting child to an aduld website
This one was vicious, with no apparent upside for the scammer. A Minecraft related video ended with a suggestion to search Google with the name of the world's most famous porn video site – I leave the name out on purpose. The smaller children don't recognize the proposed search terms, but are eager to type them to get a promised reward for the game. I this case there is nothing to gain for the scammer or the adult website, so this one is simply a very evil prank.
Protecting the young ones
All major operating system providers have their own family features for limiting screen time, tracking usage and protecting from inappropriate content and malicious sites: Google Family Link, Apple Screen Time and Microsoft Family Safety. Use them. There are also numerous commercial third party solutions, but I doubt they add many benefits on top of the default offerings.
Fortify with Cloudflare One
Internet infrastructure company Cloudflare offers filtering DNS-services for everyone, free of charge. You don't need to install any apps to register accounts. Simply configure your home network router to use Cloudflares high performance name servers. It is advisable to apply the sames settings for every device as well, enabling protection when using it outside of your home network.
- Unfiltered: 1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1
- Malicious site protection: 1.1.1.2, 1.0.0.2
- Malicious site and adult content filtering: 1.1.1.3, 1.0.0.3
On Android phones, use the Private DNS feature and configure it to use security.cloudflare-dns.com or family.cloudflare-dns.com for adult content filtering.
If this sounds too technological for you, Cloudflare has excellent instructions available with more details.