Online scams targeting teens: sextortion, gaming scams and what to tell your kids

Teens spend a lot of time in places where strangers can message them: games, Discord, Instagram, Snapchat. They tend to trust online friends quickly, they often have some money or a gift card, and they are reluctant to tell a parent when something goes wrong. Scammers count on that last part most of all.

The goal of this guide is to help you have one calm conversation now, so that if something happens later your child already knows what to do and knows you will help.

Financially motivated sextortion is a crime in which someone tricks a young person into sending a nude or sexual image, then threatens to share it with their friends and family unless they pay. The FBI has issued repeated public warnings about it and says the targets are mostly teenage boys. Many of the people behind it are organized groups operating from outside the US.

The pattern is usually similar:

1. A friendly, attractive account (often posing as a girl around the same age) starts chatting on social media or a game. It may already follow some of the teen's friends, which makes it look real.
2. The conversation moves quickly to flirting and a request to swap photos.
3. Once an image is sent, the tone flips. The scammer shows screenshots of the teen's follower list and demands money, gift cards or crypto, often within minutes or hours.
4. Paying does not end it. Scammers who get paid typically demand more.

Some scammers skip the photo step entirely and use AI tools to create fake explicit images from ordinary pictures. The threat and the advice are the same.

You do not need to be graphic. A short, calm talk covers it. You might say something like: "There are scammers who pretend to be a girl or guy your age, get someone to send a private photo, and then threaten to share it unless they get money. If that ever happens to you or a friend, it is not your fault, you are not in trouble, and we will sort it out together."

Then give them the five steps:

1. It is not your fault. The person doing this is a criminal. Being tricked is not a crime.
2. Do not pay. Paying almost never makes it stop, and it marks you as someone who pays.
3. Stop replying. Do not negotiate or argue. But do not delete the account or the chat yet.
4. Save the evidence. Screenshots of the profile, the username, the messages and any payment details they gave.
5. Tell an adult you trust. A parent, a relative, a school counselor. Right away.

If it happens: what parents should do

• Stay calm and thank your child for telling you. How you react now decides whether they tell you next time.
• Report it to NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678, and to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or your local FBI field office.
• Use Take It Down, NCMEC's free tool for removing nude or sexual images of anyone under 18. It creates a digital fingerprint (a hash) of the image on your own device, so the image itself is never uploaded, and participating platforms use that fingerprint to find and remove copies. It also works for adults who were minors when the image was taken.
• Report and block the account on the platform once you have saved the evidence.
• Watch your child closely for a few days. If you are worried about their safety, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Free in-game currency is the classic bait. A site, video or message promises free Robux, V-Bucks or skins if you enter your username and password, complete a "verification" survey, or download a generator. There is no such thing as a free Robux generator. The real aim is the login, a malware download, or survey sign-ups that earn the scammer money.

Other versions to know about:

• Account trading and selling. A buyer or seller of rare items or accounts pays with a fake screenshot, or takes the account and disappears. Most games ban account sales in their terms, so there is no one to complain to.
• Fake gift links on Discord. "Free Nitro" or "Steam gift for you" links that lead to fake login pages, often sent from a friend's account that was already stolen.
• "You've been reported" messages. Someone claims your account was reported by mistake and you must contact a "moderator" and verify your details, or it will be banned.

Simple rules help: never share a password or a login code, only buy currency inside the game or official store, and turn on two-factor authentication on game, Discord and email accounts. See our guide to two-factor authentication. Purchase approval in the console parental controls stops most spending surprises.

Fake jobs and easy money

Offers of paid work for liking posts, reviewing products or "reshipping" packages. Some ask for an upfront fee for training. Others send a check, ask the teen to deposit it and send part of the money back, and the check later bounces. Some reshipping or "money moving" jobs make the teen a money mule for stolen funds, and that can carry real legal trouble.

Influencer and brand deals

A message says a brand wants your teen as an ambassador, or a modeling agency spotted their profile. The catch is a fee for a portfolio, a starter kit, or shipping. Real brand deals pay creators. They do not charge them to join.

Crypto and investment schemes

Teens see crypto promoted constantly. Scams include fake trading platforms that show big paper profits but will not allow withdrawals, "send me a little and I'll send back double" posts, and new coins pushed by influencers who then sell out. The FTC is clear on one point: anyone who promises guaranteed returns or demands payment in crypto is a scammer.

Giveaways

Fake accounts impersonating a favorite streamer or celebrity announce a giveaway and ask winners to pay a small shipping fee or share personal details. Look for the verified badge and check the creator's real account for the same announcement.

Many teen scams start with a stolen account. A friend's hacked Instagram sends a "vote for me in this contest" link, or "is this you in this video?" The link goes to a fake login page. Once your teen signs in, the scammer takes over their account and uses it to target their friends.

Teach the same habit adults need: if a message asks you to log in, do not tap the link. Open the app directly. If a friend sends something odd, check with them another way. The signs in our guide to spotting phishing apply on every app, not only in email.

If an account is already hijacked, use the platform's official recovery page, warn friends that messages from it are not real, and change the password on any other account that shared it.

• Sextortion or any sexual exploitation of a minor: NCMEC's CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678, and the FBI.
• Removing explicit images of a minor: Take It Down.
• Money lost to an online scam: the FBI's IC3.gov and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Gift cards used to pay a scammer: contact the gift card company right away using the number on its official website. Sometimes funds can be frozen if you are quick.
• The platform itself: report and block the account in the app, after saving evidence.

If your child's personal details were shared or used, our guide on what to do if your identity is stolen covers the next steps. Parents can also place a free credit freeze for a child under 16 at each bureau.