Safe and Savvy: Cyber Safety for Irvington Families (slides)

Slide 8 of 30. All four cards come from fremontpolice.gov/crime-prevention/scams-fraud-financial-crimes. (1) Fremont PD warns that criminals fake caller ID, including the non-emergency line (510) 790-6800; officers never call from it to request information or solicit money; if you get such a call, hang up. They may also use a real officer’s name and claim a missed subpoena, a ticket fine or a tax payment. (2) Neither Fremont PD nor any US government agency will call and demand you send money immediately for the safety of a family member or yourself; call family members first and confirm they are OK; the scammer wants you to react out of emotion. (3) Disturbing-image texts that include a name, address or phone number: that information is generally public or from data breaches; truly specific details (the time you leave for work, a regular sports event) would imply someone is watching. (4) Work-at-home mystery-shopper scams: an official-looking check, instructions to buy gift cards and read out the PIN numbers; the check bounces and the victim loses thousands. Ask for Zoom reactions: who has had a call or text like this? Teen-specific guidance on bullying and AI-faked images comes from ConnectSafely and NCMEC.

Slide 9 of 30. Read each scenario aloud (play A in a worried voice). Ask for A, B, C or D in the chat for each (or launch a Zoom poll if enabled), then reveal: all four are scams. A = AI voice clone. B = Fremont PD documents spoofed caller ID that can even show the department’s own non-emergency number, with claims of a missed subpoena or ticket fine. C = a familiar account that has been taken over; a login code is the key to the account, so never read one out, even to a friend (Discord’s own security page documents malicious downloads, QR codes promising free Nitro and look-alike login sites; it does not specifically cover hijacked friend accounts, so present C as general account-takeover advice). D = the fake-check job scam documented by Fremont PD and the FTC: never pay anyone to get a job. Segue: what is real proof? Something only your family knows.

Slide 14 of 30. Give everyone two minutes to post clues in the chat, then reveal: (1) school affiliation in a public profile, (2) a fixed practice schedule = where she will be and when, (3) birthday = date of birth, handy for account recovery and social engineering, (4) a house number in a photo = home address, (5) a live story from a transit station = real-time location. Each post is harmless; together a stranger knows who, where and when. AAP advises limiting location-specific information and reviewing account privacy. Parents: review your own posts too. This is a made-up profile; no real student is depicted. Fremont PD (scams page): general details like a name and address are widely available, but specific routines such as a regular sports event would imply someone has been monitoring a person. Segue: now the settings that fix it.

Slide 17 of 30. Verified against ConnectSafely’s Parent’s Guide to Cyberbullying (updated Jul 26, 2025). Steps for teens: it is not your fault; do not respond or retaliate (retaliating can turn one mean act into a chain reaction); save the evidence; block and report (it probably will not end it, but you will be less tempted to respond); get help; for threats of physical harm call local police with a parent and report to the school; if you see it, do not pass along a mean message. Parent points: you are lucky if your child asks for help, since most do not tell; respond thoughtfully, not fast, because acting publicly can worsen the marginalization; what victims say helps most is being truly listened to; solutions matter more than punishment; banning an app or taking the phone does not solve it, because the interaction continues and a ban can leave the teen left out. Kids may call it drama, so avoid leading with the word cyberbullying. Numbers on ConnectSafely’s page: Pew 2022 found 46% of US teens had experienced at least one type of cyberbullying (name-calling 32%, false rumors 22%, unwanted explicit images 17%, explicit images shared without consent 7%); NCES found about 19% of students 12 to 18 were bullied in 2021-22, and 22% of those say it happened online or by text. The group-chat line (leave, do not forward) is a practical addition; ConnectSafely advises not passing along mean messages. Also see connectsafely.org/Sextortion/.

Slide 18 of 30. Sensitive topic: keep your tone calm and matter-of-fact, no graphic detail. From NCMEC’s generative AI page: offenders may create an explicit AI image of a child who refused to send a nude, then use it to blackmail the child for more content. NCMEC says report to the CyberTipline (report.cybertip.org), request removal through Take It Down (takeitdown.ncmec.org; anonymous removal requests from participating platforms), and report the content to the platform. NCMEC also offers support: its 24-hour call center is 1-800-843-5678. Do not pay or send more, and keep threats and account details but not the explicit image, are widely given safety guidance rather than NCMEC page text, so present them as general advice. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act requires platforms to offer removal processes for nonconsensual intimate images; keep claims about its scope general. Resource: connectsafely.org/Sextortion/.

Slide 20 of 30. Follows AACAP’s Facts for Families guide: companions are programs that respond like a helpful friend; appeal is privacy, availability, agreeable and complimentary replies; risks include strong emotional bonds, isolation, reduced social-skills practice, flirtatious or sexual content, and reinforcing unhealthy ideas; AACAP says companions are not considered safe for children and parents should strongly consider restricting or removing access. Model moderate screen use. Be careful to distinguish homework helpers from companion apps. AACAP does not list specific warning signs; the mood and withdrawal items are its general concerns. Common Sense Media research (Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs): nearly 3 in 4 teens have used AI companions and half use them regularly; about a third have chosen an AI over a person for a serious conversation; about a quarter have shared personal information; its position is that no one under 18 should use these platforms. Ask: “who has heard your teen talk to a chatbot like a friend?”

Slide 22 of 30. This is action 2 of the seven (protect accounts, keep login codes private). The NIST deck has no password-manager slide; the data is NIST’s parent password survey: 77% memorize, 40% write on paper, 40% saved and auto-filled, 53% change only when needed. Name the options without endorsing one: Apple Passwords (iCloud Keychain) if the family is on iPhone, Google Password Manager (in Chrome and Android), and dedicated apps such as 1Password or Bitwarden that work across devices; several offer family plans or shared groups for shared logins like streaming or Wi-Fi. The recommendation itself is general best practice, not NIST’s. Demo idea: show the autofill prompt on your phone, and note it will not fill on a look-alike site. Remind parents to protect the manager with a strong master password and 2-step login. Kids: younger children rely on family to create and remember passwords, so set it up together; teens can run their own.

Slide 30 of 30 (backup). Keep it light. TryCyber, CyberSeek, National Cyber League and NCAE Cyber Games are from the NICE webinar deck. Merritt details are from merritt.edu/cybersecurity: AS degrees and Certificates of Achievement in Infrastructure Security and in Applications Security (AS about two years, classes on Fridays, with internships and labs); CyberCamp is a free two-week introductory course for middle schoolers, high schoolers and adults; the BangNull Cybersecurity Club, founded in 2014, competes in the National Cyber League; Merritt students placed in the top 2.8% in the Spring 2025 National Cyber League rankings; the program holds an annual Cybersecurity Career Day. Merritt is in Oakland (12500 Campus Drive). CyberCamp dates and eligibility are on the Merritt page; check them before promising anything to families.