So, your child is leaving the nest to go to college. You try to protect them as best you can while they're at home, but how do you extend that protection as you send them out into the world to live on their own?
As a parent, it's important to be attentive to the threats that your young adult child may not be considering and discuss how to handle situations that may arise when they’re away from you. For instance, you’ve probably taught your child safety tips for walking alone at night, but have you considered the dangers around cybercrime and the potential for medical emergencies?
With these often lesser-considered threats in mind, here are some conversations you may want to have:
Six tips to avoid being a victim of cybercrime
1. If it's too good to be true, it probably is. Alert your kids to be wary of deals that advertise textbooks for cheap, apartments below the market rate or offers to help pay off student loans. "Scammers use emotional appeals," said Kris Jackson, director of security engineering and operations at BOK Financial®. "If you're online and feel compelled to take action by fear or impulsiveness, there is a high probability that you are being scammed."
2. Protect yourself with technology. Tech tools and best practices come naturally to the younger generation. Jackson recommends advising students to use device lock screens, two-factor authentication, "hide my email" tools and services like iCloud Private Relay to keep data safe, especially if using public computers or WiFi like in the campus library or a coffee shop.
3. Change the default usernames and passwords on new products. Outfitting a dorm or apartment often means new tech. If hackers can figure out the default password on your device, they will gain access to the data across your network without your knowledge. And these attacks are becoming increasingly common; in fact, a cyberattack took place every 39 seconds in 2023, according to a study by Cybersecurity Ventures. Jackson recommends reminding students to keep their data private by creating secure login credentials with complex passwords.
4. Step up your password game. Remind your kids to create a unique and strong password for every new site. If keeping track of all your passwords is a struggle, every Android and iPhone product has a built-in keychain—use them to create and store your secure passwords.
5. Beware of free software. As more young people dabble with content creation, they might be enticed to download off-license software or digital content, which could include malware.
"Hackers hide malware in legitimate software to conduct malicious activity," Jackson said. "You're basically giving them your computer when you download the software." Given the risks, let your kids know it's better to purchase software than downloading a free version. It's usually worth the higher price tag, he added.
6. Understand your TikTok risk. When you agree to the TikTok terms of service, you allow that company to take your network data, inspect other devices on the network, download personal data and collect biometric information, including your voice and fingerprint.
"Make sure you understand the risk-and-reward tradeoff for using TikTok," said Jackson. "They are exfiltrating data to create profiles on American citizens that include behavioral data. This information could be used later to blackmail, coerce or even create deep fakes." Talk to your kids (of all ages) about the risks and see if TikTok is really worth it.
What to do if you're a victim of cybercrime
However, even when taking the above precautions, it’s still possible to fall victim to a cyberattack. Jackson recommends that you or your child take the following steps if it happens to them:
- Contact your bank or financial institution immediately. They may be able to help you avert some or all of the losses.
- Close any credit cards that have been breached.
- Freeze your credit. A freeze will lock your sensitive credit files and prevent fraudulent lines of credit from being opened without your knowledge. This is a free service, but you will have to work individually with all three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Finally, your child should consider talking to a therapist or friend to process their feelings about the cyberattack. "Any manipulation, like cybercrime, can lead to guilt or shame—especially for young people who might not feel confident enough to talk about it," Jackson said.
Be prepared for a medical emergency
Of course, cyberattacks aren’t the only potential danger that your child may face at college. Medical emergencies can happen to even the healthiest kid. For that reason, preparing for a health emergency is another must when sending a child off to college, said BOK Financial Trust Officer Mike Sears.
"Parents don't always recognize this as a need," cautioned Sears. "Because, to you, they're kids; but in the eyes of a healthcare system, they're legal adults, which means you'll need documentation to allow you access to medical information and records in the event of a health emergency."
HIPAA regulations restrict medical personnel from sharing the medical information of individuals 18 and older with anyone, including a parent. However, with a properly executed power of attorney or HIPAA waiver, parents can receive information and be involved in decision-making.
To be fully prepared, one or all of the following three documents should be prepared before a child leaves for campus, said Sears:
- A general power of attorney authorizes a designated person to make financial decisions on the student's behalf. For example, if a student experiences a medical emergency that pulls them out of school, the parent could have access to financial aid, tuition, tax returns, etc.
- Healthcare power of attorney: This document grants an individual permission to make medical decisions for someone incapacitated or unable to give informed consent.
- HIPAA authorization: This form authorizes the release of some medical records to a designated recipient and does not have to be notarized. It allows individuals to stipulate which parts of their medical records remain private.
How to get started
"It would be helpful for parents to visit with an estate attorney to determine which of these three is the most pertinent for your family," said Becky Godfrey, a trust officer with BOK Financial. "Typically, the most important one when sending your child off to college is the healthcare power of attorney."
Often a HIPAA waiver is built into that document, Godfrey added.
Having a HIPAA waiver or power of attorney in place is a safeguard against teens, well, being teens. "At 18 or 19, it may not be reasonable to expect your child to remember to name you as the emergency contact on every form and file these sorts of documents on their own," said Sears. "This is just covering those bases."
Godfrey recommends that a qualified attorney prepare those documents and provides the following guidelines:
- Keep a copy of all the documents in a safe place.
- Re-visit the documents during any life events, like graduation or marriage, or location changes, like transferring schools.
- The documents will require signatures from everyone involved, so plan accordingly if your child is attending college out-of-state.
Learn more about BOK Financial's online security or call 844-517-3308 to report suspicious activity on BOK Financial-related accounts. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also keeps an up-to-date list of current threats.
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