Spotting the Online Scams That Target Kids and Teens

Scammers have discovered that kids and teens make appealing targets: they're online constantly, often trusting, sometimes impulsive, and increasingly have access to money or accounts. Helping your child recognize the common tricks is one of the most practical safety skills you can teach.

Why young people are targeted

Children and teens tend to be more trusting of online strangers, less practiced at spotting manipulation, and highly responsive to social pressure and the fear of missing out. Many also have access to a parent's payment methods or in-game currencies. Scammers exploit all of this — usually with urgency, secrecy, and a too-good-to-be-true hook.

The scams to know

Gaming and in-game scams

"Free" in-game currency, rare items, or account upgrades are classic bait. A child is told to click a link, enter their login, or pay a small fee to unlock a reward that never arrives — and now the scammer has their account or your card details. If it promises something valuable for free or cheap, it's almost always a trap.

Phishing messages

Fake messages pretending to be from a game, a social platform, or even a friend whose account was hacked, asking the child to log in via a link or share a code. The link leads to a convincing fake page that harvests the password. Teach kids never to enter logins from a link in a message, and to go directly to the app instead.

Impersonation and "friend in trouble" scams

A hacked friend's account messages your child asking for a favor — a code, a gift card, money. Because it appears to come from someone they trust, kids comply. The rule: if a friend asks for anything unusual online, verify through another channel before acting.

Romance and grooming-adjacent scams

Some scams build a fake relationship over time to extract money, images, or information. These overlap with safety risks far more serious than money. A child who suddenly has a secretive online "relationship" with someone they've never met in person deserves a calm, caring conversation.

Teaching kids to recognize the patterns

Rather than memorizing every specific scam, kids do best learning the underlying patterns: pressure to act now, requests for passwords or payment, offers that seem too generous, and insistence on secrecy. A child who pauses at any of those signals and checks with a trusted adult is well protected.

Create a no-blame reporting culture

The biggest barrier to dealing with scams is shame. Kids who fall for one often hide it, which lets the damage grow. Make it clear, repeatedly, that if they ever get tricked, they can come to you without fear of punishment or losing their device. Catching it early is what limits the harm.

If your child is scammed

Stay calm and supportive. Change affected passwords, contact the relevant platform or your bank if money or accounts are involved, and treat it as a learning moment rather than a failure. Your composure is what makes them willing to tell you next time.

Staying ahead

Scams evolve constantly, but the core defense doesn't: a child who thinks critically, recognizes pressure tactics, and trusts you enough to ask. Keep the conversation going, and those skills will protect them long after today's specific scams are forgotten.

If you encounter a scam involving the safety of a child, consider reporting it to the relevant platform and your local authorities.