Preparation

• Check whether the "third party lock" function is available for mobile phone contracts in your country. If not skip exercise "Third party lock".

Method / Process description

• Group discussion: Ask participants about their experience with financial risks of  the internet:
  • Which risks do they know?
  • Have they ever lost or overspend money on the Internet? (Most people will not admit it...)
  • Have they heard about family members or friends who had this problem?
  • Have they heard about kids getting into financial trouble on the Internet?

• Input: Introduce the problem of subscription traps:
  • The history of subscription, like doorstep selling of newspaper subscriptions
  • The products that are sold as subscriptions: from ring tones to vitamin pills 
  • Point out the importance of carefully reading business terms and conditions of use on the Internet and make it clear to children that they will not accept such terms and conditions without the accompaniment of parents.
  • What you can do in case you got trapped: https://www.europe-consommateurs.eu/en/shopping-internet/internet-fraud-and-scams/subscription-traps.html

• Exercise "Third Party Lock": Split the class into groups of 2-3 people. Let them research on the internet how they can activate a third party lock for their mobile phone contracts. This function can be usually be activated via a phone code or in the customer menu. This function should be activated on childern's mobile phones in order to prevent them from unwanted subscription. It can be equally helpful for adults.
• Input: App expenses
  • In 2020 consumers in the United Kingdom spent 2.9 billion U.S. dollars on mobile apps, followed by Germany with 2.8 billion U.S. dollars (https://www.statista.com/statistics/297880/consumer-spending-mobile-games-region/).
  • This article illustrates how different the expenses in families can be: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/18/magazine/money-diaries.html 
  • Introduce participants to the term "in-app purchase". This is when you buy add-ons within an app: additional game levels or objects, special features of apps. In-app purchases are very frequent in apps for children. 
  • Explain to participants how to prevent in-app purchases by kids:
    • Do not store the app store's password on devices kids are using. Without the password they cannot make a purchase.
    • Limit in-app purchases with kids safety tools and functions: Most modern apps that are designed for kids allow to block in-app purchases. This function is also available on most video game consoles.  
    • Block access to other apps when kids are using the phone (e.g. Android
      Screen PIN https://support.google.com/android/answer/9455138?hl=en or Apples Guided
      Access https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202612 
• Exercise "Check Your Phone for In-App Purchases": Let participants check on their phones whether they have the password for the app store saved on the the device. Let them check if they have any apps on their phones (especially the ones used by kids) that allow limiting in-app purchases. 
• Input: There is a lot more ways how people (as well young people) can loose money on the Internet:
  • Online gambling is on the rise, especially since the Corona lockdown forced people to stay at home. Compared to traditional gambling, access to online gambling is much easier and completely anonymous. It's also harder to keep track of how much money you already spent. Access controls for children seem to work quite well, but there is a high risk for (especially male) young adults once they reach the age of legal use. Prevention programs in schools already address the issue of online gambling addiction, but parents can also prepare their children for the risk.
  • Blackmailing: e.g. by injecting malware to people's devices and blocking them or by using compromising images or videos (we'll address the last case in the exercises about data protection and protection against online sexual assaults). Module 4 Security, privacy and safety offers further information about these topics.
  • E-Mail or social media scammers: People asking for money via social media for medical emergencies: https://www.mimikama.at/aktuelles/abzocke-auf-facebook-ich-leide-an-kehlkopfkrebs/ or pretending to be in love (romance scamming will be looked into detail in the next chapter). 
  • Crypto currencies: Promise easy money and are very attractive for young people.  https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/19/life-savings-in-crypto-generation-of-amateurs-hooked-on-high-risk-trading
• Reflection: At home let participants fill in the worksheet "Our Family‘s Monthly Phone and Internet Costs" together with their families. Parents often pay for their children's Internet services, so kids have no idea how much their Internet use really costs. This calculation makes the amount transparent for everyone and prepares young people to pay the costs themselves in the future.

Download material

• Worksheet "Our Family‘s Monthly Phone and Internet Costs"

References

• Online Gambling (Get Safe Online): https://www.getsafeonline.org/personal/articles/online-gambling/

• Parental Controls (InternetMatters.org): https://www.internetmatters.org/parental-controls/