Nowadays, children and teenagers spend a lot of time on the Internet, where they can not only find new friends and have fun, but also become victims of financial fraudsters. Therefore, the younger generation needs to be taught not only financial literacy, but also the basics of financial hygiene, experts say. Where do fraudsters most often find children? What words do they often use in communication? How to properly protect children? Why is it better to turn off chats? Should you monitor every purchase? Why do fraudsters choose young people as victims, because they do not have much money? A banker, cybersecurity expert and head of the Latvian Association of Cyberpsychology tell us. A study conducted by the global consulting company Deloitte in 2023 showed that Generation Z, or "digital children", born between 2001 and 2012, are three times more likely to fall into the trap of financial fraudsters than older generations. "Financial literacy is not only about budgeting, but also about being able to protect yourself when making payments online. Young people use smart devices, social networks, and many have their own payment cards, so they are just as "susceptible" to financial fraud as their parents," says Edgars Surgofts, head of Bigbank's Latvian branch. No similar studies have been conducted in Latvia yet, but a survey conducted by Better Business Buro among young Americans showed that the three most popular ways fraudsters reach them are social networks (55% of teenagers reported that criminals have contacted them using social networks), online gaming platforms (38%), and text messages (37%). Cybersecurity expert Elvis Strazdins is the father of two children, one of whom will start school this fall, so issues of child safety, including cybersecurity, are very relevant to him. "Unfortunately, we live in a time when even small children cannot be fully protected from the actions of scammers. I tell my children about all possible types of fraud, about how they can try to deceive them, for example, by pretending to be me, imitating my voice or even creating a video using artificial intelligence. I also explain that the number they are calling from may not be real. Fraudsters can try to gain their trust, make friends with them, and then take advantage of their gullibility," Strazdins shares his experience. In turn, Dr. psych., Mg. Ed., head of the Latvian Association of Cyberpsychology Valery Dombrovskis notes that first, every parent should ask themselves whether they understand what financial fraud is and whether they have an algorithm for how to protect themselves from it. If a parent does not have such an algorithm, they may not be able to teach their child to protect themselves in such situations. "It is quite difficult for a child to protect himself, that is why he is a child. Of course, parents should explain what financial fraud is, what it is fraught with, how to check information, what sources can be trusted, but in general, the child is unlikely to understand all this. The problem is that fraudsters are constantly improving their methods. Therefore, the main thing is to build such a relationship with the child, when he trusts his parents," emphasizes Dombrovsky. According to Dombrovsky, such a relationship also means that any action or deed that intuitively seems wrong to the child or is simply new to him must be agreed upon with the parents. One of the effective ways to protect your children is to require that all purchases made on the Internet or using technology be agreed upon by the child with the parents. In turn, it is important for parents to learn to understand the needs of their children and not be too critical of their desires. When talking to children about financial fraud, Dombrovsky recommends using examples that are easier for children to understand. For example, in an online game, a friend with whom the child is playing suddenly asks to borrow game currency for a certain period. It may happen that such an online "friend" will simply disappear along with the game money. It is easier for a teenager to understand what financial fraud is if you compare it, for example, to losing an account on a social network when someone finds out their login details. Such examples from the digital world are more understandable to children and help them grasp the meaning of these processes. "All fraudsters first try to influence a person's emotions, and only then get to their money. They often use words such as "quickly", "just now", "this opportunity will not be available again". Therefore, here we are talking about emotions: if a person is able to control their emotions, they can also control their life; if not, then the likelihood of falling into the trap of fraudsters is higher," warns the head of the Latvian Association of Cyberpsychology, adding that children should also be taught not to make decisions in a hurry or under the influence of emotions (strong desire). Parents should teach children to control their emotions and conduct a minimal assessment of the situation before making financial transactions. In turn, Strazdins recommends disabling any connection with unknown numbers on the child's phone so that no one can call or send a message. He advises parents whose children use the popular online gaming platform Roblox to disable the chat function, since, according to him, this platform is a huge testing ground where children are subjected to ridicule, deception and emotional abuse. Strazdins, who has extensive experience in exposing scammers, notes that criminals work with their victims for more than one day. Sometimes this can continue for months or even years. The problem is that the actions of scammers are not stopped in time. The longer a person is in this scheme, the more difficult it is for him to get out of it. "It is not necessary to control every chocolate bar bought with a child's card, but at least once a day you should inquire about what is happening with the account. Of course, a limit should be set. Perhaps a few dozen euros transferred to fraudsters will not be a big loss for the family budget, but parents should notice in time if this is happening and talk to their child to stop this scheme,” advises the cybersecurity expert. Valery Dombrovsky also agrees that there is no need to control every purchase a child makes in a store with a card, since from the age of 14, he should learn to take responsibility. However, parents should ensure that there are not large amounts in the child’s account so that in the event of fraud, this does not become a serious blow to the family budget. It is better to open two accounts for the child – one for savings and one for expenses. Parents can enter a PIN code for purchases on online gaming platforms. This may seem like a hassle every time a child wants to buy a new Fortnite skin or a Roblox game, but such a measure will help prevent unauthorized purchases. “It is important to teach children the basics of financial hygiene that every adult should know – do not share passwords, personal data and other confidential information with strangers, and "know that bank employees will never ask for account access details over the phone, Smart ID PIN codes and cards," says Edgars Surgofts, head of the Latvian branch of Bigbank. He adds that banks do everything possible to protect their clients, but in most cases, fraudsters manage to manipulate people so convincingly, promising, for example, easy profits, that they themselves transfer money to the criminals. According to data published by the Finance Latvia Association, in the first six months of this year, fraudsters lured funds from clients of the four largest banks in Latvia in the total amount of 9.452 million euros, which is 86.2% more than in the same period last year, and people themselves confirmed the payments. Teenagers usually do not have large sums in their bank accounts, but fraudsters still consider them a desirable target. Why? "Fraudsters can take advantage of the trust children and teenagers have in order to obtain not only their own personal data, but also their parents' data, bank card numbers and much more – names, addresses and other private information that can be used for criminal purposes," says Surgofts.
