In a technology driven world, people are spending more and more time online, on social media, especially teenagers. In a study conducted by Pew Research, 95 percent of teens in the United States have access to a smartphone, with 45 percent saying they are online constantly, making them an easier target for scammers. Monmouth Police Department Investigator Josh Kramer offers tips for parents to make sure their children remain safe:
“There is a lot of security restrictions that are out there on these different devices, so I definitely recommend that all parents should review the security settings. YouTube has YouTube for kids. Set things up that they can only utilize that are to their age. Just monitor them. Make sure you are engaging, maybe you have set all those settings, but actually look to see what they are looking at.”
According to a McAfee survey from 2023, nearly 25 percent of teenagers have encountered fake social media accounts, with several of them falling victim of phishing scams.