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What parents or caregivers can do when a child receives a suspicious online message.
Short answer
Keep the message as evidence, avoid further engagement, and help the child block or report the sender. If personal information, passwords, money, or threats are involved, take additional protective steps.
Start by avoiding blame. The priority is understanding what happened and stopping further contact.
Save screenshots and relevant account details before blocking or reporting if the evidence may be needed.
If the child shared a password or verification code, change the affected credentials immediately.
If the message involves threats, sexual exploitation, extortion, or immediate danger, use appropriate child-safety and reporting channels.
Check it now
The essentials for keeping your most important accounts locked down.
Open the checkSomething already happened?
You received a text message that claims to be from your bank, a delivery company, SARS, or another organisation, and something about it feels off. These messages are usually trying to get you to click a link, call a number, or reply with information.
If you entered your password on a suspicious website, treat that password as compromised. Go directly to the real service, change it, turn on MFA, and check recent account activity.
If your personal information has been exposed, work out exactly what information was shared, secure affected accounts, watch for suspicious activity and avoid giving the same information to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly.
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