Keeping children safe online this Christmas

Advice form Humberside Police:

Buying a games console or mobile phone for a young person this Christmas?

Most kids want the latest games console and where would they be without their mobile phone?  So Christmas is a time when people look to buy electronic equipment for their loved ones.

Let us help you keep them safe by making sure security and privacy settings are changed to ensure they don’t get contacted by someone you don’t want to.

But do your kids probably know more than you about how to set the security and privacy setting? 

Don’t leave it to chance, make sure that if you are giving a games console or mobile device to any young person, have it set up to help prevent them from being contacted by someone you would really not want to be speaking to or communicating with your kids.

It’s not difficult to do, any high street retailer will help you went to make a purchase or you can find lots of information online in the Think You Know, Get Safe Online and NSPCC websites.

Detective Sergeant Patrick Morfitt from our Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) said, “If you are buying a device for you children this year, make sure it is age appropriate and has the parental controls set up to protect them from unwanted online contact.https://www.youtube.com/embed/jlhYT_YVoUQ?enablejsapi=1

“We don’t want to scare parents and carers about the safety of their children, we simply want to make sure they talk to their children about staying safe online. 

“Try to be open with your children so that they know they can come to you if something has happened online that they’re not happy about or if a stranger has tried to contact them or send them a friend request.

“If you think an offence has taken place please call 101 and talk to us.  We can and will take action against those who seek to harm children online.

“As a parent myself I know how easy it is to get their devices made secure and so at Christmas I would just ask other parents to take the time to check the parental controls and make sure everyone has a safe and happy Christmas.”

Keep your children safe now and in the future by making sure their devices are secure.