As kids return to school, a new study found America’s youth lost a record $210 million to online scams last year, up 2,500% since 2017.

Many adults were taught about “stranger danger” as kids and told never to get into a random van. In today’s technological world, online predators have even easier access to our children because scams that prey on young people’s insecurity and naiveté can lead to financial losses, physical harm and suicide.

“The rate at which young people are being scammed is alarming. As a father of two, I am passionate about keeping kids safe online and it is incumbent on parents to spend more time discussing online safety with their children.”

Social Catfish Co-Founder David McClellan

Social Catfish – a reverse search technology company – released a study on the State of Internet Scams 2023 using data from the FBI IC3 and FTC.

About Online Scams

Online Games and In-App Purchases Scam: Many online games and mobile apps offer in-game purchases. With one click, kids can make substantial unauthorized purchases and be tricked into sharing their parents’ credit card information because children may not fully understand spending real money in a virtual world. How to Avoid: Parents should enable parental controls to stop in-app purchases without their approval.

Romance Scams and Sextortion: Online predators target lonely teens on social media and begin ‘love bombing’ them. Teens with low self-esteem are more susceptible to falling in love. Scammers will ask for money or personal information to commit identity theft. They may ask to meet in real life which could lead to physical assault or may engage in ‘sextortion’ by requesting a sexy selfie and then threatening to release the photo if a ransom is not paid. How to Avoid: Perform a reverse image search to confirm the real identity of the person. Never send money or photos to anyone you do not know. 

Learn more about online scams, including key findings on the state of internet scams by reading State of Internet Scams 2023 from Social Catfish.