Award-Winning Internet Safety Expert Helps Parents, Caretakers Protect Kids Online

Fareedah Shaheed, an award-winning Internet safety expert, helps parents and their caretakers sort through challenges such as online safety, online gaming, browsing the Internet, social media usage, and the proliferation of AI.

“I help parents and caretakers protect their kids online,” the Texas-based business owner explained.

The 27-year-old CEO and founder of Sekuva Protect Kids Online LLC addresses online safety through her Protect Kids Online (PKO) membership; one-on-one calls; original courses; Internet safety campaigns; workshops; and speaking engagements. 

Shaheed’s course offerings include Protecting Your Child On Their Phone and Protecting Your Kids from Sextortion Predators and Online Gaming. Her significant contributions and heartfelt work earned her Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree recognition.

Shaheed’s movement to protect kids online is fueled by her professional background in cybersecurity awareness and threat intelligence, in addition to her background as an “ex child online.”

“I’ve been gaming since I was 13 years old, and I’ve had good, bad, ugly and beautiful experiences. Some of the beautiful experiences are great friendships and people that I’ve met throughout my years that I’m still friends with today.”

Shaheed added, “Then you have the darker side of connecting with predators, people who didn’t mean well to me as a kid. I didn’t know the word for it as a child, but as an adult, I know that I was groomed online. Those experiences really fueled my passion for keeping kids safe, and then also protecting their innocence and joy online.”

Shaheed was born in Maryland, but her father worked for the American government and got a job in the Middle East when she was eight years old. After moving, Shaheed found herself fascinated by a different culture. During her formative years, gaming sometimes led to chatting with strangers.

“Now, I got to connect with people in different countries and different experiences. So, for me, it was fun, and I loved meeting people.”

When Shaheed returned to the United States before heading to college, she began talking to someone online for a couple of months before events took a dangerous turn.

“At that time, I didn’t know that he was a predator.  He told me later on that he was around 40 years old, and I was around 16,” Shaheed said. “I just thought, ‘Oh, I’ll just meet him, and it’s going be fine.’ Of course, I didn’t tell my parents about anything. I was hiding all of our interactions, and I was packing my bags to go meet him at the park.” 

An internal feeling tugged at the then-teenager. Before walking out of her door, Shaheed confided in her mother about the intended meeting.

“We had a conversation that changed my life,” she said.

Her mother helped her daughter to process the situation wisely. It changed Shaheed’s perspective of her mother as a parent. She did not feel judged and realized that perhaps she did have a safe space at home. Shaheed did not meet the predator that day. Instead, she began sharing information about online conservations with her mother. Their new way of bonding led to the creation of the S.A.F.E. Method.

“I wanted to help other parents do what she did in that situation. And then we came up with the S.A.F.E. Method— so that’s Building Safe Spaces, Developing Accountability, Having Fun, and Showing Empathy as a way to keep your child safe online, especially from predators,” Shaheed explained.

These are the core pillars that she now uses to teach others how to keep kids safe.

Shaheed stated that non-techie parents and caretakers can play games with their kids, make time to listen to them when they want to discuss online interactions, share moments of their own childhood experiences, and even seek therapy to develop a parental safe space as a part of a strategy to help young people feel more heard and less judged.

Parents can also encourage children to open up by displaying empathy and refraining from making judgmental comments aloud when news stories pop up about kids who have encountered online issues.

“You don’t know what your child is going through online. Your reaction to someone else’s story may make your child not want to talk to you,” Shaheed mentioned.

Additionally, the Internet Safety expert recommends using Common Sense Media (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/) as a resource that rates and reviews everything from movies and apps to games for families.

Shaheed taps into her inner child through her work. She simply loves seeing kids have fun and being joyful. 

“That’s why I do what I do,” she remarked.Follow Shaheed via https://www.instagram.com/cyberfareedah, subscribe to her YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/cyberfareedah, or visit her website: https://sekuva.mykajabi.com/join-SKM.