Unit 1 · Topic 03 · Digital Safety and Citizenship
In Anaya's cricket game, a player called SixerKing sent her a message. "Nice bowling! Want 500 free coins?"
Anaya had twelve coins. Five hundred sounded excellent.
SixerKing was chatty. He said he was nine. He said he was in Class 4. He said his school was near a big temple, same as hers, probably.
Anaya told Kabir at lunch. "He's basically us," she said.
"How do you know?" said Kabir.
"He said so."
Kabir chewed his roti and thought about that.
By Thursday SixerKing had a plan. To send the coins, he needed her login and password — just for two minutes, he said, and then he would hand it straight back. He typed a laughing face. He typed "trust me na".
Anaya typed her password.
On Friday her account had no coins at all. Not five hundred. Not even the twelve she started with. Her player name had been changed to POTATO. SixerKing was gone, and his messages had vanished with him.
Anaya was not hurt. She was furious, and a bit embarrassed.
Ms. Rao helped her report the account and reset her password. Then she asked the useful question.
"Which of the things SixerKing told you did you actually check?"
Anaya stopped. She had checked nothing. She had believed typing.
"Online, you can only see what someone types," said Ms. Rao. "Anyone can type nine."
Kabir showed her the two buttons on every player's profile: Block and Report. They used both.
Pixel groaned once, long and low, like a grandfather who had seen all this before.
Anaya rebuilt her coins the slow way, by playing. It took eleven days. Her player name is still POTATO. She says she has grown fond of it.
Meeting people online is normal. The risk is not that everyone is bad — most people are fine. The risk is that you cannot check anything. Online you see typed words and a chosen picture. Age, name, class, city: all of it is typed, and typing is free.
So an online friend is someone whose claims nobody has confirmed. They stay a stranger until a trusted adult in your real life can vouch for them.
Four moves keep you safe: never share private information, never agree to meet alone, use Block and Report, and tell a trusted adult early. Telling early is not being a baby. It is how the mess stays small.
Open a game or app you already use and find two buttons: Block and Report.
They usually sit on a player's profile, or beside a message. Do not press them — just find them.
Write down where each one lives, then show a grown-up.
Knowing where they are beats hunting for them in a hurry.
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