How To Teach Your Kids About Online Scams

In today’s digital world, scammers are getting better at finding new ways to steal personal and financial information from families. Instead of focusing on adults, they are increasingly targeting kids and teenagers who may be less familiar with how scams work. Scammers may try to access a child’s account or trick them into sharing their parents’ personal information. 

That is why knowing how to teach kids about scam tactics is so important. When you teach kids about online scams, you give them the information they need to recognize warning signs and protect your family’s information. 

For more information and resources on financial safety, contact Arkansas Federal Credit Union or explore our additional resources. 

Types of Online Scams That Target Children

It’s easy to believe that you or your children would never fall for a scam, but it can happen to anyone. Scammers are becoming more effective in ways they target people. Knowing the different types of online scams can help you identify them in the moment and protect you from becoming a victim. Some of the most common online scams targeting kids include: 

• Social media messaging scams: Direct messages from scammers using fake accounts to impersonate well-known brands or influencers. They may offer free merchandise or share get-rich-quick schemes, then ask for personal information or send a link that installs malware or steals data.
• Online shopping scams: Ads that sell popular products at unreasonably low prices, such as an iPad being sold for $25. These items are either counterfeit, poor quality, or never delivered at all, and the seller disappears after payment. 
• Online gaming scams: As children befriend other players online, they can be persuaded to share personal information such as names, addresses, and account passwords. Promises of free in-game currency, “skins” or other desirable gaming extras can persuade children to share payment information or click on links that lead to malware or spyware downloads.
• Fake contests or giveaways: Require you to provide personal information to enter a giveaway or claim a prize that does not exist. Scammers use these as bait to collect personal details such as your name, address, phone number or banking information for identity theft.
• Fake talent scouting: Promises of modeling or acting opportunities or agency representation in exchange for an upfront payment. Once the payment is received, the agency or opportunity disappears. 
• Money transfer scams: Requests for payment through peer-to-peer money transfer apps, like Zelle¹ or Venmo, for products or services that are never delivered. Money transfers are instant and are often irreversible, so there is usually no way to get the money back after it is sent. 
• Fake scholarships and grants: Fraudulent offers for financial aid that request an upfront processing fee or ask for personal financial information. These scams are sometimes used to steal identities and apply for loans in the victim’s name.
• Phishing emails and texts: Messages that look like they are from a legitimate established company and are designed to get you excited or create a sense of panic so you click a link that can steal your data. They may claim you have won a prize, have a payment issue, or need to verify your account.

Knowing the different types of scams is important to not only protect yourself, but also to teach your children what to look out for. 

How to Teach Your Kids About Online Scams

It is important to have conversations with your children about online scams to help keep your family’s financial information safe. Below are our tips for how to teach kids about online scams:

1. Talk to your children about healthy money habits and the importance of keeping their money safe. When kids understand how money works, they are more likely to question suspicious offers. 
2. Go over the common warning signs of scams so your child knows what to look out for and can recognize them if they encounter one. 
3. Explain the importance of privacy and that private information like passwords, account numbers, and other personal details should not be shared online. 
4. Discuss the dangers of talking with online strangers and remind them not to respond to messages from people they do not know.
5. Show them how to tell the difference between real and fake ads so they can spot the tricks scammers use to sell fake products and get people’s personal information.
6. Remind them to never click on suspicious links or links from people they do not know.
7. Teach them to only use Zelle,¹ Venmo, or Apple Cash with people they know and teach them how to send money safely. 
8. Encourage them to come to you or another trusted adult if they are ever unsure if something is a scam.

Teaching your kids about financial literacy and scams is one of the best ways to help protect them. You can also add an extra layer of protection online by using parental controls to limit in-app purchases or freezing your child’s credit report until they are older. Above all else, the most effective thing you can do to keep them safe is to model safe online behavior yourself.

Learn More About Financial Literacy for Kids

One of the best ways to combat against financial scams is to teach your kids about money. When children understand how money works and why security is important, they are more likely to question suspicious offers that could be scams and take action to protect their information. 

Arkansas Federal offers resources that can help you teach your kids about money and the importance of financial cybersecurity.