Two types of Internet smarts

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Dear Grandparenting: My grandkids, your grandkids and darn near every one else’s grandkids spend every waking moment on the Internet, right?

They’re supposed to be the great experts, high and mighty about all things Internet, right? But I’m here to tell you that just is not so. They get fooled, and fooled again. I play it safe and confine my Internet goings-on to emails with friends.

Let’s just say my teenage grandkids have jumped into some Internet-based activities they came to regret. One sent money to someone he met online and never heard from that girl again.

Another thought she was buying brand name clothes at a big discount and ordered stuff using her credit card. Guess what? No clothes, no nothing, and the bad guys rang up $1700 on her credit card. And so it goes.

I thought you might find this interesting. Everyone thinks grandparents are the ones who need Internet help. Guess the grandkids could use a hand too! Alice Hollins, Boston, Massachussets

Dear Alice: Grandchildren under age 20 — the so-called Generation Z — comprise the most technologically savvy generation ever come along.

But according to federal and online security service data, Generation Z’s growth of reported financial scams, from 2017 to the present, out-paced all other age groups.

Internet-based scams steal billions annually. Older Americans remain the most victimized — people over 60 reported the most incidents of cyber fraud. But the data indicates that scammers have turned to successfully targeting other age groups, with Generation Z as Exhibit A.

Traps that successfully ensnare teens and young adults include job scams, online influencer scams that ask the “winner” for their banking information, online shopping scams and romance scams, with more on the way. Keep up your guard. Cyber fraud is a growth business.

Grand remark of the week

Brandi Donofrio from Fishkill, New York weighed in with “my two favorite sounds” whenever grandchildren visit.

“My favorite is when the kids and I dissolve into giggle or laughing fits,” said Brandi. “My runner-up favorite sound is the deep breathing when they’re sleeping.”

https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2021/09/Tom-and-Dee-byline-1.pdf

Tom and Dee and Cousin Key

Dee and Tom, married more than 50 years, have eight grandchildren. Together with Key, they welcome questions, suggestions and Grand Remarks of the Week. Send to P.O. Box 27454, Towson, MD, 21285. Call 410-963-4426.

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