Safer Internet Day 2026: Five Things That Actually Work

Every year on Safer Internet Day, we're reminded to "stay safe online." But what does that actually mean when your grandmother is video-calling on WhatsApp, your teenager is managing a TikTok account with 10,000 followers, and you're trying to figure out if that email from your bank is real?

The internet isn't getting safer - it's getting more complicated. So here are five practical things that actually make a difference, based on what we're seeing work in the real world.

1. Treat Your Passwords Like Your Toothbrush

You wouldn't share your toothbrush with strangers, and you shouldn't reuse passwords across websites. When LinkedIn got breached in 2012, millions of people suddenly had their Netflix, Gmail, and banking passwords compromised - not because Netflix or Gmail were hacked, but because people used the same password everywhere.

Use a password manager. Yes, it feels weird at first, like letting someone else hold your keys. But it's significantly safer than the Excel file named "Passwords.xlsx" sitting on your desktop, or worse, the sticky note under your keyboard.

2. Your Phone Number Is Your New Home Address

Remember when we were told never to share personal information online? That advice hasn't changed, but what counts as "personal information" has. Your phone number is now the key to your digital life - it receives two-factor authentication codes, password reset links, and account recovery messages.

In February 2025, a Pune resident lost ₹43 lakh to scammers using a deepfake video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy. The scam worked because the victim received a "verification call" that seemed legitimate. When someone calls asking you to verify a code you just received, hang up. Legitimate companies never ask for verification codes you received via SMS.

3. Free Public WiFi Isn't Free

That airport WiFi named "Free_Airport_WiFi" might not actually be the airport's network - it could be someone's laptop set up to capture your passwords. If you must use public WiFi, don't access your bank account, don't enter passwords, and definitely don't make online purchases.

Your phone's mobile data is safer than free WiFi from unknown sources. Yes, it uses your data plan, but that's cheaper than identity theft.

4. Your Kids Are Teaching Scammers How to Sound Like Them

AI voice cloning has become frighteningly good. In 2025, we saw multiple cases of scammers using AI-generated voices to impersonate family members in distress, requesting urgent money transfers. These attacks work because the technology can now clone a voice from just a few seconds of audio, like what your kids post on Instagram or TikTok.

Establish a family code word for emergencies. If someone calls claiming to be stranded and needing money, ask for the code word. Real emergencies can wait 30 seconds for verification. Scammers can't.

5. When In Doubt, Close the Tab and Start Over

That urgent email saying your account will be suspended? That text saying you've won a prize? That pop-up warning that your computer is infected? Close the browser tab and navigate to the website yourself by typing the address directly.

Scammers rely on urgency. "Your account will be locked in 24 hours!" "Click now or lose access!" Legitimate organisations give you time to respond and multiple ways to contact them. If it feels rushed, it's probably fake.

The Bottom Line

Online safety isn't about installing the perfect security software or memorising complicated rules. It's about developing a healthy skepticism for anything urgent, too good to be true, or asking for information you wouldn't share with a stranger on the street.

The internet is a tool - incredibly useful, occasionally dangerous, and completely normal in 2026. Treat it with the same common sense you'd use when walking through a crowded marketplace: keep your valuables close, don't trust strangers asking for money, and if something feels wrong, it probably is.