Day 10 of the Spooky Cyber Safety Challenge: Phantom Footprints Online

We’ve made it! 🎉 Today is the final day (Day 10 of 10) of our Spooky Cyber Safety Challenge. Over the past 10 days, you and your family have learned how to spot scams, build family cyber rules, protect gaming accounts, and even add extra layers of protection with multi-factor authentication.

For our last challenge, we’re exploring something that can feel invisible—until it isn’t: your digital footprint.

Just like ghosts leave behind phantom footprints, everything we post online—pictures, comments, likes, even old accounts—leaves a trail that others can see. Teaching kids about this concept early helps them understand that the internet is forever, and what they share now may resurface later.

Why Digital Footprints Matter

• Reputation: Teachers, colleges, and employers may search online before making decisions.

• Privacy: Seemingly harmless posts can give away details about location, habits, or family members.

• Safety: Oversharing can make kids easier targets for scams or cyberbullying.

Family Activity: Phantom Footprints Online 👣

1. Sit down with your child and search your names together.

2. Look at what comes up—social profiles, old pictures, news articles, maybe even things you forgot about.

3. Use the worksheet (see below) to guide discussion:

   • I was surprised when I saw…
     (Example: “I didn’t realize my old Facebook posts still showed up.”)

   • Today I learned that…
     (Example: “Some photos of me that I do not like come up when you search my name.”)

   • In the future I will…
     (Example: “Think twice before posting a silly photo.”)

Tips for Parents

• Model good digital habits: Kids learn from what you post too.

• Review privacy settings together: Walk through TikTok, Instagram, or gaming accounts to show how to limit what’s visible.

• Remind kids the “grandparent rule”: If you wouldn’t want your grandparent (or teacher) to see it, don’t post it.

🎃 Cybersecurity Parents Challenge Wrap-Up

This concludes our 10-day Spooky Cyber Safety Challenge! We’ve covered phishing, family rules, gaming safety, 2FA, and now digital footprints. By completing these activities, you’ve given your family a fun and memorable foundation for staying safe online.

Thank you for joining us—your kids may think you were just having fun with Halloween activities, but you’ve actually built lifelong digital safety habits. 👏