San Mateo, Calif. (March 16, 2022) – In an effort to help children learn about safe internet practices from an early age, Arkose Labs, the global leader in fraud deterrence and account security, today announced the launch of its debut children’s book, ABCs of Fraud. Autographed, limited edition copies of the book are now available and may be ordered for free at: https://www.arkoselabs.com/resource/abcs-of-fraud-book.
“Recent research shows children’s screen time has doubled since before the pandemic, and that more than a third of children began interacting with devices before the age of five[1],” said Arkose Labs founder and CEO Kevin Gosschalk. “Unfortunately, children are becoming prime targets for cyberfraud at earlier and earlier ages. Just like we teach kids to not talk to strangers in real-life, we also must ensure they know what to look out for online so that they avoid bad people lurking on the internet. I’m excited about this book because now, for the first time, adults have an age-appropriate tool to help children gain more knowledge about how to stay safe from the plethora of bad actors hoping to profit financially off of their naivety.”
Co-authored by Gosschalk and Arkose Labs Chief Marketing Officer Vanita Pandey, this unique alphabet book is part of the company’s overarching mission to create an online environment where all consumers are protected from malicious activity. The creation of the book also is intended to be a guide that cybersecurity professionals can use to explain simply the important work they do to the kids in their lives. The company has aligned with Family Online Safety Institute on this initiative and will donate all sales to support its commitment to help promote children’s online safety from fraudsters.
“As kids begin to use devices and interact in digital spaces from even younger ages, it’s imperative that we equip them with the basics of online safety and security,” said the Family Online Safety Institute. “The ABCs of Fraud is a great, proactive way to meet kids where they are as they begin learning how to navigate the connected world.”
The ABCs of Fraud enables adults to have serious conversations about the dangers of online fraud through sensitive imagery and language appropriate for primary-age children. From “A is for Account Takeover” to “Z is for Zero Trust,” the book provides simple statements, colorful illustrations and real-life examples to explain the complexities of online fraud. It additionally offers the opportunity for adults to discuss actionable safety tips to help equip children to navigate the web–whether they are playing games with friends or doing homework–and avoid fraudsters’ tricks and scams.
Vanita Pandey, Arkose Labs CMO, said, “Online fraud is very hard even for adults to detect, so how can we expect a young child to know what online fraud looks like? Younger kids have been forced into the digital world because of the pandemic and they are at risk of being exploited inadvertently because today they have access to mobile phones, the internet, tablets, and many have their own accounts on gaming, school, and entertainment sites at rates never before seen prior to 2020. That’s why we believe it is never too early to start raising children’s awareness about attack types like bots, phishing scams, and social engineering. As a mother of two, I am deeply passionate about our youth being safe online from an early age. However, a gap exists in how we talk to children about fraud. We must ensure adults and our children have the tools to stay safe from the plethora of bad actors hoping to profit off of their naivety.”
ABCs of Fraud also is intended for the cybersecurity industry. From the outset, a vision for the book was to be used by security professionals as they engage with children to share stories about their careers, experiences, and how they are making the world a better place. The book covers many types of cybersecurity issues, which gives cyber pros the ability to talk about a range of issues and how many of them are interrelated, in their quest to stop bad actors.
ABCs of Fraud is an independently published softback book. A limited quantity of free special-edition copies are available here: ABCs of Fraud. The book is also available for pre-order now from Amazon.com: here. All book sale proceeds will go towards the Family Online Safety Institute.
About Arkose Labs
Arkose Labs’ mission is to create an online environment where all consumers are protected from malicious activity. Recognized by Gartner as a “Cool Vendor in Fraud and Authentication,” the company offers the world’s first $1 million credential stuffing warranty. Its AI-powered platform combines powerful risk assessments with dynamic attack response that undermines the ROI behind attacks while improving good user throughput. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA with offices in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, Tokyo, Japan, San Jose, Costa Rica, and London, UK, the company debuted as the 83rd fastest-growing company in North America on the 2021 Deloitte Fast500 ranking.
[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/07/28/childrens-engagement-with-digital-devices-screen-time/
