Learn Dark Web

Online Safety Center

Online safety is practical, not technical: spotting a scam before you act on it, knowing what to do when something goes wrong, and helping the people around you — kids, parents, grandparents — stay safe too. This hub covers all of it, in plain English.

By Abdul Hannan · Published 2026-11-14 · Last updated 2026-11-14

Avoiding scams

Almost every online scam runs on the same recipe, whatever the story: unexpected contact, urgency, and a request for money, gift cards, or account details. The story changes — a parcel, a bank account, a prize, a relative in trouble, an investment that cannot lose — but the shape stays the same. Learn the shape and you can spot new scams.

The red flags are stronger together: an unexpected message, pressure to act now, a request for money or logins, a link to a page that looks almost — but not quite — like a real company's site. One flag can be innocent; two or three together mean stop. The safest move is boring: ignore it and check the company's official site or app yourself.

What to do if you clicked something suspicious

First, stay calm — clicking a link is not the end of the world. Do not type in any details, do not download anything the page offers, and close the page. Then check the accounts it may have touched, starting with your email. If you entered a password, change it everywhere you reused it and turn on two-factor authentication. If money or card details were involved, contact your bank right away — banks deal with this daily and can freeze cards and watch for fraud. Keep any message or receipt as evidence, and report the scam to your national reporting service or local police.

Kids and teens

The best safety tool for a child is a conversation, not an app. Talk regularly about what they do online, and the rule that matters most: they can always tell you, without getting in trouble, if something upsets or confuses them. Teach them people online are not always who they claim to be, photos spread further than expected, and an adult asking to keep a conversation secret is a warning sign. Device controls and safe search are a useful backstop — but no filter catches everything, and a child who trusts you will tell you what it missed. In the UK, a child can also talk to Childline, free and confidential, on 0800 1111 (verified 2026-11-14 on childline.org.uk); elsewhere, use a child helpline in your own country.

Seniors

Older users are targeted deliberately: scammers assume they have savings and trust official-sounding messages. The protection is the same as for everyone, plus patience from family: set up two-factor authentication, help them recognise the "urgent message from the bank" pattern, and agree a family rule — never pay or share details because of a message; call the company, or a family member, first. If a parent or grandparent is embarrassed about being scammed, that is when they most need to hear it happens to careful people too — and that telling someone quickly limits the damage. Never blame; help them report it.

Build a family safety plan

A family safety plan is a short, written agreement about how your household handles the internet, and it works best when everyone helps write it. Cover three things: what stays private (names, addresses, school names, photos of children), what happens when something suspicious arrives (nobody clicks or pays; an adult is told; the company is contacted through its official site), and who to tell (a named adult, plus the bank if money is involved). Keep it to one page, visible to all, and revisit it when a child gets a new device or account.

When to seek professional help

Some situations are beyond a web page. Contact your bank immediately if money, card details or bank logins were shared or stolen — it can freeze accounts and watch for fraud. Contact your local police if you were threatened or blackmailed; in an emergency, call your local emergency number. Use your national fraud or cybercrime reporting service for other scams, so investigators can spot the pattern. If a child is involved, talk to a trusted adult — and in the UK, Childline on 0800 1111, a free, confidential helpline for children and young people (verified 2026-11-14 on childline.org.uk). Elsewhere, use a child helpline in your own country. You need not be certain it was a crime before asking; asking is what the services are for.

Where to go next

The threats behind the scams — phishing, malware, ransomware and breaches — are explained in plain English in our Cybersecurity hub. How websites track you, and what a VPN hides and does not hide, is in Online Privacy. How Tor works, and what it can and cannot hide, is in Tor Education. Full guides on scams, kids' safety, seniors' safety and the family plan are being written now and will appear here as they are published and checked.

Frequently asked questions

How can I tell if a message is a scam?

Look for the combination, not one clue: unexpected contact, urgency ("act now or lose your account"), a request for money, gift cards or a password, and a link or attachment you did not ask for. Any one of those can be innocent; two or three together is a strong warning. When in doubt, contact the company through its official site or app — never through the message itself.

What should I do if I clicked a suspicious link?

Stay calm and do not enter any details. Close the page, do not download anything it offers, and check the accounts it may have touched — starting with your email — for unfamiliar activity. Change passwords for any account you may have entered details into, turn on two-factor authentication, and tell your bank if money or card details were involved.

What is the best way to keep children safe online?

Conversation first, controls second. Talk regularly about what they do online, what feels wrong, and that they can always tell you without getting in trouble. Use device controls and safe-search settings as a backstop, not a replacement for talking — and remember that no filter catches everything.

When should I report a scam instead of just ignoring it?

Report it whenever money, account details or personal information were shared — or if the same scam is clearly targeting other people. Report to your bank first if money is involved, then to your country's national fraud reporting service or your local police. Reporting helps investigators spot patterns even if your own money is recovered.