Malware and spoofing
Two threats are common. The first is malware, harmful software. Even careful people can be tricked. Scareware is malware that pretends to be a virus alert. A box suddenly says ‘Your device has a virus! Click here to remove it!’ But the link is the virus. Malware can also reach phones, and an unsafe public Wi-Fi connection that anyone can join can open a door for it. The second threat is spoofing. A criminal pretends to be a business or a person you know. The web address may look almost like a real one, or an e-mail may show the name of a service you trust, or even of a friend, but it is not from them. If you click, your information could be seen, money could be stolen, or a virus could be installed. Look for clues: you did not expect the message, it frightens you or hurries you, the address looks slightly wrong, or it asks for personal details. What to do: do not click, do not answer, do not forward it, and show a grown-up.
| Threat | How it tricks | First move |
|---|---|---|
| scareware (a kind of malware) | a fake virus alert with a harmful link | do not click; tell a grown-up |
| spoofing | pretends to be a business or someone you know | do not answer; a grown-up checks another way |
| unsafe public Wi-Fi | anyone can join; harmful software may slip in | ask a grown-up before joining |
| Real address | Address in the message |
|---|---|
| deltaparcels.example | deltaparcels-now.example |
Spot the trick. Write four short pretend messages on paper strips: two harmless (a teacher reminds the class about a trip) and two tricks (a prize you never entered for, a fake virus alert). Mix them up. A partner sorts them into ‘safe’ and ‘trick’ and underlines the clue in each trick. Use no real names, numbers or addresses.