How to keep your kids’ debit card information safe

Here’s a summer quarantine idea: Ask your kids if they know how to write a check (or maybe even see if they know what a check is). Most money managing tools are now digital, which is convenient — but it’s important to know how to keep it safe.

If your kids have their own debit cards and bank accounts, you’ll want to have a talk about online financial safety. Start with these five tips! 

Keep personal information…personal

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Kids may talk to their friends about everything, but when they get their first debit card, they’ll have to keep some things private.

Explain to your kids that their debit card number, PIN number and login information should be kept a secret. And while you’re at it, help them come up with a trick to remember these numbers [1]. It’s a lot of information! 

Know when to spot a scam

With little exposure to the world of scamming, kids may not be able to spot something phishy. Have a talk about these possible scams: 

• Scammers who act like your bank. Make sure your kids never give out personal information via phone, email, text or social media. Greenlight will never reach out directly to a child, so if they ever get a strange call from someone posing as Greenlight, they should politely decline and have a grownup reach out to our Customer Service team.

• Shoulder surfing [3] is another thing to look out for. This is when a scammer peeks over someone’s shoulder to get their card information. Tell your kids that it’s easy to avoid — just keep your card to yourself and cover that PIN number! 

• The too-good-to-be-true deals. When your kids start shopping online, have a safety session with them to point out offers that are trustworthy [4] and those that are not.

Practice safety at the ATM 

If your kids are making trips to the ATM, remind them to cover their PIN number. If the ATM has several failed attempts, tell them to head to another one. 

Or, skip the ATM trips altogether. Just turn off ATM spending access in your app. 

Have a safe place for your debit card

Like their candy stash or video game cabinet, kids need to have a safe spot for their debit card. Remind them that this card isn’t just a piece of plastic — it holds all of the money they’ve worked hard for. 

Lost card? It happens to the best of us. In the Greenlight app, you and your kids can turn off the card with the tap of a button. 

Learn about it together

Going through these tips gives you and your kids a chance to learn about financial safety together. Grownups make mistakes too, so it’s a learning moment for everyone. 

With Greenlight, your kids learn by doing. Lessons and conversations come naturally as you work together to keep track of their money, divvy up their earnings and map out their financial futures. Now that’s an offer that’s never too good to be true — sign up for Greenlight today!

[1] The balance [2] Nerd Wallet [3] LifeLock [4] WalletHub