How to deal with online scams: a parent guide
Online scams are a bigger risk now than ever.
Parent Zone research found that 96% of young people in the UK aged 13-18 have made an online purchase, and collectively spend an estimated £50m+ per week online. Of those young people, 42% had subscribed to something accidentally, been scammed, or lost money in some other way.
If your child has been the victim of a scam there are a number of immediate practical actions you can take.
Limit further losses
First off, you’ll want to limit any further losses. If your child has lost money through their bank account, the first action you should take is to contact the bank and check if lost funds can be returned, as well as putting a hold on any cards that could be used.
If they’ve lost access to personal accounts or if their device has been compromised in the process of being scammed, it’s important to reset passwords and also run anti-virus software.
If your child has had their identity stolen, you may need to report hacked accounts to appropriate platforms as well as letting their school, and any financial institution, know what has occurred.
Report the scam
Secondly, you should make a report of the scam. You can do this through Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for cybercrime and fraud, Citizens Advice and of course, the police.
Crucially, victims of scams need to be aware of ‘fraud-recovery fraud’. This is where someone pretends to work for the police or another organisation and offers to help you recover money that you’ve lost after you’re likely to have made a report. Always double-check credentials and never provide bank details or make further payments.
If you’re worried someone is trying to trick you into handing over personal details, you can ring 159 to speak directly to your bank.
Further support
You can also contact a number of organisations that can offer emotional and wellbeing support for your child, including Childline or The Mix.
When talking to your child, remind them that they are the victim and that they’re not to blame.
Prevention
Another step in recovering from being scammed can involve limiting the chances of future harms.
Preventative measures can include:
- thinking critically about offers that are ‘too good to be true'
- thinking about why someone might be motivated to endorse a product or investment understanding things like phishing tactics not clicking on unknown links or attachments
- the importance of protecting personal information
- learning more about strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA)
- checking businesses are legitimate, through the Financial Conduct Authority
- speaking to you (or another trusted adult) if they are ever unsure, worried, or feel pressured
Child Financial Harms Parent Zone is leading a three-year programme – funded by Nominet – to explore and test system changes for countering online child financial harms, abuse and exploitation. To learn more, read our A Problem Hiding In Plain Sight report.