Meet Melware

Melwares are picture guzzling, information gobbling gannets. Always peckish for a photo, they love to feed on your image or snippets of information about you, getting bigger and bigger the more they eat. A melware will ask you to send them photos of yourself to send to them or to let them have your phone number or address so that they can keep in touch. They may even offer to buy or give you things in exchange, but don’t fall for their sneaky tricks!

Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information when you’re chatting or posting online. Personal information includes your email address, phone number and password.

Whatever you’re choosing to share, and whoever you’re sharing it with, it’s important you do so safely and positively. Personal information is all of those details about your life which should be kept private. They are details which could give away information about who you are or which could put you at risk if shared with a stranger.

Never send your photographs to anyone who isn’t a family member or close friend that you know in real life. If someone you don’t know in real life asks you to share a photo or video or go on camera, don’t reply, and tell an adult you trust.