Threat Dictionary

45 free entries from the four Pillars and the Tech & Security Guide — grooming, sextortion, doxxing, phishing, spyware and more, explained for parents.

Every threat the Digital Guardians Safety System covers — the 35 chapters of the four Pillars and the ten technical chapters of the Tech & Security Guide — each with its target age range and plain-English definition, plus the learning objective where the chapter states one: the opening of every chapter, free to read. The full chapter (warning signs, prevention, the words to say, the settings to change) is in the book.

Digital Consent & Boundaries (ages 8–18) — Violation of digital consent means someone shares your photos, videos, messages, or personal information without your clear agreement, or pressures you into…
Safety in Digital Friendships (ages 8–18) — The main threat is deceptive or harmful relationships formed online. This includes grooming (when someone builds trust to exploit a child), cyberbullying by…
Reputation & Permanence (ages 10–18) — Digital permanence means anything put online can stay accessible forever. Inappropriate posts, privacy missteps, or just careless comments can come back…
Safe Posting (ages 5–7) — Oversharing is the casual disclosure of personal information through photos, captions, geotags, or videos. Even a single innocent post can leak a child's…
Privacy & Consent (ages 8–12) — Privacy threats in the digital world involve the exposure of personal data or images without proper safeguards or permission. Children may overshare details…
Digital Risk Literacy (ages 9–12) — Digital risk literacy refers to the knowledge and skills needed to stay safe online. Without it, children are vulnerable to misinformation, phishing, and…
Catfishing (ages 11–18) — Catfishing is when someone creates a fake online identity to deceive others, often to gain trust for exploitative purposes. The catfisher might pretend to be…
Digital Kidnapping (ages All ages) — Digital kidnapping is a form of online identity theft where someone takes a minor’s photos or personal data from the internet and pretends the child is their…
AI Voice/Face Cloning (ages 8–10) — AI Voice Cloning is the use of artificial intelligence to analyze recordings of a person’s voice and create new audio that sounds exactly like that person. In…
Peer Pressure (ages 10–18) — Peer pressure is the influence from friends or age-mates to behave in certain ways – it can be positive or negative. Negative peer pressure makes a child feel…
Online Dares (ages 10–17) — Online dares (viral challenges) are tasks or stunts circulated on the internet, often via social media or video platforms, that encourage people (usually…
Exploitation in Gaming (ages 7–16) — Predators may pose as fellow gamers (often pretending to be kids or teens) to befriend a child over time. Through chat and voice communication, they build…
Forced Livestreaming (ages 10–17) — Forced livestreaming is a form of online coercion where a child is manipulated or blackmailed into broadcasting live video of themselves engaging in harmful…
Stranger Danger Online (ages 8–13) — Digital stranger danger refers to the risks children face from unknown individuals online. Just as with strangers in real life, not everyone on the internet…
Dating Safety (ages 13–18) — With the rise of social media, chat rooms, and teen dating apps, strangers can easily reach out to teens by pretending to be peers. A predator might pose as a…
Sextortion Prevention (ages 12–16) — Sextortion is a form of online sexual blackmail. It occurs when someone (often posing as a peer) tricks a child into sending explicit photos or videos, then…
Live Streaming Safety (ages 12–16) — Live streaming allows users to broadcast video in real time. While it can be fun, it also brings risks. As a viewer, children might accidentally see explicit…
Online Grooming (ages 10–16) — Online grooming is a form of exploitation where an adult (or older teen) builds a relationship with a minor online to gain their trust for the purpose of…
Sextortion (ages 12–18) — Sextortion (short for “sexual extortion”) is a serious cybercrime where someone threatens to share your private sexual images or information unless you give…
Spyware on Devices (ages 11–18) — Spyware is malicious software designed to secretly invade a device and steal information or monitor activity. It can log keystrokes, capture screenshots…
Location Tracking (ages 10–18) — Digital Tracking through Apps/Services: Many smartphone apps, social networks, and games collect or share location data. If a child shares their live location…
Hidden Recording Apps (ages All ages) — Hidden recording apps are stealthy programs that disguise themselves as normal apps (like games, messaging, or utility tools) while secretly recording audio…
QR Code Attacks (ages 10–18) — A QR code is that square barcode you scan with your phone to open a link or information. While QR codes themselves are just tools, attackers exploit them by…
Public Wi-Fi Traps (ages All ages) — Public Wi-Fi Traps refer to the various risks one faces when connecting to the internet via open or public wireless networks (like those in coffee shops…
First Phone Setup (ages 10–14) — Uncontrolled phone access can open the door to multiple digital threats. A first phone isn’t just a device for calls— it’s a portal to the internet, social…
Smart TV Restrictions (ages 4–14) — A smart TV is an internet-connected television with apps (YouTube, Netflix, Twitch, etc.) and often a web browser. This connectivity brings risks similar to a…
Watch/Tracker Safety (ages 5–12) — Many kids’ smart watches allow calls or texts. If not properly secured, strangers or predators could contact the child through the watch (e.g., by obtaining…
Blackmail Recovery (ages 12–18) — In a digital context, blackmail is a form of extortion where someone threatens to reveal embarrassing or sensitive information, images, or video unless their…
What To Do Immediately (ages All ages) — “What To Do Immediately” is not a single threat, but rather a critical protective strategy. It refers to the first actions taken right after discovering a…
Evidence Preservation (ages 14–16) — Evidence Preservation in the digital safety realm means retaining and protecting any digital information that could serve as proof of wrongdoing or could be…
Rebuilding Confidence (ages 11–17) — This module addresses the harm caused by digital harassment or repeated online negativity that erodes a child’s self-esteem. For example, persistent…
Doxxing (ages 14–16) — Doxxing is a type of online harassment where an individual’s private personal information is publicly exposed without their consent, typically with malicious…
Reporting Protocols (ages 8–18) — Reporting protocols refer to the formal process used when a child encounters online misconduct that must be escalated to adults or authorities. This includes…
Student Intervention (ages 11–18) — Student intervention refers to the actions that a child or teen can take to respond to peers’ unsafe or harmful online experiences. The “threats” here include…
Family Communication Systems (ages 8–14) — When family communication breaks down – for example, parents and children aren’t talking or there is high conflict – kids become isolated and vulnerable.…
Operating Systems, Updates, and Permissions (ages 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — An operating system is the core software that runs a device and manages everything else on it - apps, accounts, storage, network access, and security…
Authentication, Passwords, MFA, and Account Recovery (ages 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — Authentication risk is the danger that the wrong person gains access to an account, or that the real user loses access and cannot recover quickly. In family…
Phishing, Scams, Bots, and Social Engineering (ages 5-7, 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — Phishing and social engineering are attempts to manipulate people into giving up information, money, access, or cooperation by pretending to be trustworthy…
Cloud Storage, Backups, and Recovery (ages 5-7, 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — Cloud storage means files or data are stored on a remote service connected to an account. Sync keeps the same information aligned across devices. Backup…
How Devices Connect and Communicate (ages 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — This chapter’s “threat” is not one single bad actor. It is connectivity confusion: the gap between what users think a device is doing and what it is actually…
Home Network and Wi-Fi Basics (ages 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — This chapter's threat is network trust confusion: assuming that any network with bars, a familiar-looking name, or working internet is automatically safe.…
App Permissions, Privacy Defaults, and Account Hardening (ages 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — App permissions are the approvals a device, browser, or service asks for before using sensitive features or data such as camera, microphone, location…
Family Device Governance and Security Audits (ages 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — This chapter's threat is governance drift: the gradual breakdown of ownership, permissions, and safety rules across household devices and accounts. Drift…
Safe Browsing, Downloads, Links, and QR Code Safety (ages 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — Safe browsing failures happen when a person opens a page, file, or code path without checking whether the source is trustworthy, whether the browser is…
Household Technical Capstone and Family Security Response Plan (ages 8-10, 11-13, 14-18) — The threat in this chapter is response failure: the gap between knowing digital safety matters and being able to act correctly when a real incident happens.…