Scammers are targeting teens – Warn your Gen Zer about these tricks

December 19, 2024

By Kim Komando

I told you about the 14-year-old who committed suicide after following the advice of an AI chatbot. Another family is suing the same one — Character AI — after it told an autistic 14-year-old to kill his parents. It also exposed an 11-year-old to sexual content.

These stories are heavy reminders young people are especially vulnerable on the internet, but AI isn’t the only thing targeting them.

The fine folks at the FBI’s crime division say teens lost 2,500% more money to scams over a recent five-year stretch. Compare that to an 805% increase for seniors, which is still not great, but at least it’s not 2,500%.

So, why teens? Because thieves have more ways than ever to target them. Talk to anyone in your circle born between 1996 and 2010 about this. It’s a big deal.

Under the influence

Say a kiddo in your family idolizes an online influencer. That person is so easy to impersonate. All a fraudster has to do is set up a phony account that looks real, run a contest and trick “winners” into handing over their personal details (or more) to claim their (nonexistent) prizes. Done and done.

Pro tip: Stick to “official” influencer accounts with substantial follower counts. A smaller account is almost always a scammer, not some secret one. And never give financial info or money to someone via DM.

‘Hey there, handsome’

This one is a classic for a reason. Scammers grab pictures of an attractive teen or 20-something and play digital Casanovas. All too soon, they profess their love — then comes the request for money, gifts or info.

Pro tip: Try a reverse image search to see if those pics pop up elsewhere online. If the person refuses to video call or meet you in person, it’s a bad sign.

‘Send me a photo’

This is the dangerous intersection of smartphones, sexting and scammers. Someone shares sexy pictures and asks for some in return. As soon as the victim sends a pic or video, everything changes.

The person on the other end is now blackmailing them — or they’ll share the content with everyone the victim knows. Think about how horrifying that would be at any age, but especially as a teenager. I spoke to a family that lost their son to suicide after this happened to him. Such a heartbreaking story, and they’re not alone; this is way too common.

Pro tip: Talk to your kids about sending pictures to others online. Urge them to never share anything explicit, even with someone they know in person and trust. It’s just not worth it.

‘You won!’ … Not

This one targets younger teens. A thief tricks them into revealing credit card details or downloading malware under the guise of (unreal) rewards while making in-app purchases.

Pro tip: This one’s easy. Only ever buy apps or make in-app purchases through an official app store — no trades and nothing “private.”

Scammers are targeting teens – Warn your Gen Zer about these tricks

Under the influence

‘Hey there, handsome’

‘Send me a photo’

‘You won!’ … Not

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