Help your teen spot online scams before they act

Parents do not need to teach kids and teens the name of every scam. The safer habit is simpler: slow down when a message, profile, game chat, seller, creator offer, or account warning asks them to do something that could give away access, money, personal information, or control.

For younger kids, that usually means asking before they click, trade, download, or share a code. For teens, it also means checking before payment apps, job offers, creator deals, private images, account warnings, and pressure to move the conversation somewhere else.

Start with what they want your child to do

A fake profile, hacked friend's account, polished shopping page, prize message, and game chat can all look different. The useful question is the same every time: what action is the child being pushed to take?

That takes pressure off kids and teens. They do not have to decide whether every account is real. They only have to notice the request and bring in an adult before the risky action happens.

If the request involves threats or private images

Treat threats, private-image pressure, blackmail, and demands for more images or money as urgent. The child needs help, not blame. Do not negotiate with the person threatening them, and do not send more money, images, codes, or information to make the threat stop.

Save messages, usernames, profile links, payment requests, and dates before blocking or reporting when possible. Use the platform's reporting tools. In the U.S., NCMEC's CyberTipline and the FBI are official resources for child exploitation and sextortion concerns. If there is immediate danger or a threat of harm, contact emergency help or local law enforcement.

If an explicit image or video of someone under 18 may be shared online, NCMEC's Take It Down can help with participating public or unencrypted platforms without uploading the image to NCMEC. Do not create, forward, repost, or download private images just to report them.

Codes, passwords, and account warnings

A one-time code is not a friendship test, buyer check, giveaway step, support step, or proof that a teen is real. It is usually tied to signing in, resetting a password, changing account details, approving a payment, or creating an account tied to a phone number or email.

The practical rule is firm: no codes, passwords, backup codes, password-reset links, or login screenshots go to online contacts, friends, classmates, sellers, buyers, support accounts, giveaway pages, or anyone asking for help.

If a message claims to be from Instagram, TikTok, Discord, Roblox, Apple, Google, a bank, a store, a delivery company, or a school, do not use the link or reply thread to prove it is real. Open the real app or site yourself, or use contact information already saved or known to be official.

If a code or password was already shared, treat the affected account as possibly at risk. Use the official app or site to change the password, review recovery email and phone settings, remove unknown sessions or connected apps, turn on stronger sign-in protection, and contact the provider through its real support flow.

Games, giveaways, and trades

Gaming scams often sound like part of the game: free currency, rare skins, account boosts, tournament spots, Nitro gifts, creator rewards, testing invites, or special trades. A child may not think of a game item as money, but scammers treat accounts, items, and payment methods as valuable.

Treat free currency generators, off-platform trades, first-send deals, fake giveaways, and prize links as risky until checked in the official platform. The safer place to buy, earn, trade, or report is inside the platform's own rules and tools.

• Do not enter a game password on a site reached from chat, comments, Discord, TikTok, search ads, or a friend's link.
• Do not download a mod, game test, executor, file, screen-sharing app, or browser extension because someone in chat asked.
• Do not accept a trade where the child sends an item first and trusts that the other person will send something later.
• Do not treat comments, likes, screenshots, or videos as proof that a giveaway works. Fake engagement can be part of the setup.

Shopping, payment apps, and money requests

Teens may buy through social media ads, resale groups, game shops, creator merch pages, payment apps, marketplace listings, or links sent by friends. The risky moment is before money moves or personal information is entered.

Slow down when a product is far cheaper than normal, the seller has little history, the site came from an ad or DM, the payment must be a gift card or crypto, the seller asks for a payment-app transfer to a personal account, or there is a small fee to unlock a prize, delivery, refund, account, or item.

Make the check practical: purchases, fees, deposits, game currency, gift cards, payment-app transfers, and marketplace deals get a pause. A teen can ask before paying without automatically losing phone, game, or app access because they almost made a mistake.

Job, creator, modeling, and opportunity messages

This is mostly a teen risk. Older teens may get messages about brand deals, modeling, gaming sponsorships, paid posts, task work, art commissions, scholarships, or creator programs. Some opportunities are real. The warning sign is the request, not the topic.

Pause if the person asks the teen to pay to start, buy equipment from a specific link, deposit a check and send money back, send ID or banking details before the company is verified, move to Telegram or WhatsApp, receive packages, move money, or share an account login.

A real opportunity should survive basic checking. Look up the company outside the message, use an official website or known business email, ask a parent or trusted adult to review the request, and avoid sending private information until the person and process are verified. If the teen already sent information or money, use the fake job offer scams response path.

How to make asking for help normal

A child is more likely to ask early when the family response is predictable. Lead with the request, not blame: what did the person want you to do, what did you click or share, and which account, payment, device, or information might be affected?

If nothing happened yet, treat the pause as a success. If something did happen, focus first on saving evidence and securing the affected account, payment method, or information. Consequences can wait. The immediate goal is to keep the child talking and stop the situation from getting worse.

• Use strong, unique passwords for email, Apple, Google, social media, gaming, payment apps, school accounts, and phone carrier accounts.
• Turn on stronger sign-in protection where available, such as passkeys, app-based authentication, security keys, or two-step verification.
• Keep account recovery email and phone numbers current so the child can recover an account through official channels.
• Review privacy settings, friend requests, direct-message settings, purchase settings, and platform reporting tools together.
• Make clear that asking for help will not automatically mean punishment. Fear of punishment makes scams easier to hide.

If something already happened

If a child clicked a link, shared a code, sent money, downloaded something, entered a password, traded an item, gave personal information, or is being threatened, shift from prevention to fixing the affected thing.

For a suspicious link or login page, use the phishing scams path. For text messages, use scam texts. If an account, phone, app, password, or session may be affected, use phone and account concerns. If personal, school, ID, payment, or login information was shared, use what to do if a scammer has your information.

For fake work, creator, task, modeling, or brand messages, use fake job offer scams. If money moved, contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, game platform, marketplace, or provider through the official app or site. For U.S. reporting options, use scam reporting in the United States. If the concern is broad prevention rather than a child-specific situation, use general online scam safety habits.

Where to report or get help

Use official channels that match what happened. The right path depends on whether the problem is a scam report, platform abuse report, account recovery issue, payment issue, identity exposure, or child exploitation concern.

• For consumer scam reports in the U.S., report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• For suspected online exploitation of a child, report to NCMEC's CyberTipline.
• For FBI tips about sextortion, coercion, or online exploitation, use the FBI tips form or local law enforcement if immediate help is needed.
• For help limiting the spread of explicit images or videos taken before age 18, check NCMEC Take It Down.
• For platform-specific problems, use the reporting, account recovery, privacy, and safety tools inside the official platform.