In this module we will be learning about personal private information.

Personal Private Information is any information that tells people who you are, where you are or how to contact you. This includes:

• Where you live, your phone number or your signature
• Your religious beliefs
• Your health information, and
• Your bank details (or your parents’ bank details)

Your personal information needs to stay private, because if an unsafe person gets hold of it, they can cause problems for you. For example if an unsafe person gets your parents credit card information they can steal their money. Or, if they learn too much about where you live or what school you go to, they might be able to find you in real life.

There are different types of personal and private information. This includes information that tells people who we are, where we are, and how to find us.

If someone wants to know about who you are, they will look for information like your:

• Name
• Email Address
• Phone dumber
• Birthday, or
• Bank Account Details

If someone wants to know where you are, they will look for information like:

• Your home address
• What school you go to
• Where you spend time, or
• Where your parents work

If someone wants to know how to find you, they can look at your social media posts for the locations you have checked into. This can help them figure out where you live.

It is important to know about personal private information so you can protect yourself.

Personal information is as precious as the keys to your house. Giving these keys to the wrong people, even by accident, can be like allowing a stranger into your house without even knowing. Sometimes, information about ourselves is given away without realising.

When using our social media accounts to log into other apps or online accounts for example, you allow your information to be automatically shared to the new site.

What we do on social media sites can also reveal a lot about what we like and don’t like.

Here are some ways to keep your personal private information safe:

• Set strong password
• Don’t use your full name online
• Choose a profile picture that doesn’t reveal any personal information (you could design an avatar or cartoon character)
• Only friend or follow people you know in real life
• Keep your email and phone number private
• Don’t fill out all the fields on forms (only the ones marked with an asterisk *)
• Log out of social media sites and email while browsing the web
• Try not to use social media accounts to log in to other websites
• Change your phone settings to limit tracking and interest-based ads, and

The internet has millions of users. We might meet strangers in places like social media sites, gaming apps and chat forums. But how do we know if a stranger is safe or unsafe to be friends with?

Look out if someone you barely know:

• Tells you to keep secrets
• Asks you to meet them in real life alone
• Asks you to send them private videos or photos
• Send you a link to win something (such as a free iPad)
• Offers to buy you gifts or give you items in a game
• Offers you things like a vouchers or gifts for free, or

When talking with people online, they should always treat you with respect. This includes:

1. Never making you feel uncomfortable
2. Listening and helping but never asking you to keep or tell them secrets
3. Respecting when you say no
4. Not getting jealous of your other friends

Unsafe strangers or friends want our personal private information so they can use the information in wrong ways. This can create problems like:

• Identity fraud: this is where people get enough information about a person to do illegal things like steal your money or commit crimes under your name. It could also be used to create fake profiles to ruin someone’s reputation or to bully others.
• Catfishing: this is when a person who pretends to be someone they’re not by stealing a profile or creating a fake one. They can use this profile to trick people

Financial safety issues include financial scams. Sometimes a person might want to take personal private information to steal yours or your parents’ money. They might tell you that you have won a competition (like a free iPhone or the lottery), they will help you get coupons and extra points in a game, or they might even set up a fake charity.

Some tips to stay safe from scams include:

• Do some research about the person to make sure they are who they say they are. Check their Facebook/Instagram profile, search for them on Google. You could also ask a trusted adult to find out about the person.
• If someone sends you a link to open or a suspicious text, do not click on it or open it.
• Don’t answer unknown phone calls. If you do and they are asking too many questions, hang up.
• Never send money or give credit card details, bank account details or personal information to anyone who you don’t know or trust, and
• Beware of offers that seem too good to be true. Always use an online shopping service that you know and trust. Ask yourself “why would someone be offering this to me?”

Don’t be embarrassed if you have been scammed. Thousands of Australians are scammed every year. What should you do if you have been scammed?

• Stop talking to h the scammer and ignore any new messages
• If you have given them your banking details, call your bank immediately or go into a branch.Change the passwords for all your accounts.
• If a scammer threatens you, take a screenshot of what they have said to you and save their profile details. If you feel that you are in immediate danger from the scammer, call 000.
• If you have been contacted by a scammer but have not responded you don’t need to worry. Delete or ignore any messages.

Do you know how to spot and protect yourself from a scam?

Let’s test your knowledge and see if you know when to give your information and when you shouldn’t.

Should Melissa buy the soccer ball?

There are more than a billion websites on the internet. Unfortunately, not all of these are safe to visit. You could come across one accidentally, or a friend or stranger might send a link to you.

Luckily, there are ways to check if a website is safe. . Some simple signs that can help you decide whether a website is safe are:

• The web URL should begin with HTTPS, not HTTP
• There should be a picture of a padlock icon next to the website address
• The website has a privacy policy
• The website has contact information like an email address or phone number

These signs don’t always guarantee that a website is safe – but they are good things to look out for. If you are unsure, it is always best to ask a trusted adult.