Financial scams are often not what they seem. They can be just as dangerous, if not more so than physical harm! Everyone is vulnerable to these types of scamming techniques and that includes you and your teen! Talking to your teen is essential because they are the perfect target of fraudsters. They typically have trusting personalities and want to fit in, making them all too willing for scams that take advantage of their inexperience. They are easily intimidated and tend to believe what the scammers are saying. The scams that teenagers fall for can have very long-term negative effects!
In this article, we are going to look at the most common scams that you should discuss with your teens.
Contest
Over the past several years, scammers have come up with new and inventive ways of stealing people’s money. One popular way is to run a contest or competition that sounds too good to be true—it often is! These scams are usually focused on gathering entry fees or personal information in order for them to steal your identity so they can access bank accounts, credit cards, etc., but there are many variations as well such as literature/art competitions which trick young creative individuals into sending their work thinking they will indeed win prizes if accepted-only never receiving anything at all OR having an even larger prize promised only once you pay some fee first.
Inexpensive Luxury Goods
Teens love new technology, which scammers know all too well. They might post online ads for the latest must-have luxury goods priced at a fraction of their retail price to entice teens into buying them from an unknown source in hopes that they can get something rare and valuable before it sells out. But these scamsters usually use fake pictures of what you’re going to purchase instead of actually having anything available on hand—and when buyers realize this scammer is just making empty promises with no intention of delivering, he or she will go silent without returning any calls/texts/emails whatsoever.
Financial Scams
It’s shocking how many of the youngest people are being targeted by financial scams. It starts with an email, text message, or social media post that offers a great opportunity for making money fast and easy—a Ponzi scheme! A pyramid scheme is worse because these young adults often don’t realize they’re conned until it’s too late to get their cashback.
A Ponzi scheme is when you invest your money with someone who tells you they’ll pay back more than what was invested plus some profit for taking a risk – this sounds great at first! But alas, it’s just an empty promise as eventually all the investors will be left without any winnings while only those closest to the top reap earnings until nothing
Pyramid schemes are frauds that disguise themselves as legitimate MLM (Multi-level-marketing) programs. The difference between pyramid schemes and lawful MLMs is the lack of an actual product in a pyramid scheme, where participants make money by recruiting new members instead of selling products.
Identity theft
Despite being the most vulnerable to phishing scams, today’s adolescents are often completely oblivious of how much information they’re giving away online. They don’t realize that by providing their personal data and passwords on just one website when signing up for a free trial or downloading an app, hackers can use this information to steal identities from children as young as 12 years old- stealing money from them with fake bank accounts before draining it all in under two hours! Children who sign up for social media websites such as Facebook give out so many details about themselves without even realizing how easily these details could be used against them later down the road.
Social Media Scams
Social media is a big part of most teens’ lives, but it can open the door for fraudsters. One common scam to which many fall victim involves taking an online survey that pops up in their feed. The problem: they must provide personal information if they want to complete the survey – and scammers could use this info as access or for identity theft purposes! Often the purpose of phishing is just to obtain basic information to provide to other scammers to create legitimacy and fool the teens later!
Scholarships and Grants
The thought of not being able to pay for their higher education may make some students fall victim to false scholarships and grants. These scams often take the form of a request for personal information, which can be used by criminals in identity theft schemes or other crimes. Other scam offers charge money in exchange for “potential” scholarship opportunities that are more marketing than reality. Debt-ridden college students are being targeted by fraudsters who offer to help them pay off their debt, for a fee. Once the “customer” pays up and is given nothing in return, they’re left deeper in debt than ever before.
The moment you think your child has fallen victim to a hoax, talk with them about it. Even if they don’t want to tell you the details of what happened, let them know that their honesty could help save someone else from being scammed in the future and keep this information private between yourselves. When in doubt contact the police and talk with them, begin an investigation and make others aware of the scam!