Fraud Education and Prevention Articles

Are Scammers Hiding in Your Kids' Screen Time?

Jun 24, 2025

Jeremy Johnson is an Idaho mom whose son Jace was scammed by an offer of free Roblux — the in-game currency for the gaming platform Roblox.1 But it could have been a lot worse. 

The boy did share some sensitive information, but when the Roblux didn't materialize, he told his mom, who'd taught him about online scams. The family was aware of exactly what data was compromised and remained financially safe: Johnson hadn't connected any financial accounts to her son's games for exactly this reason.

"Even if you have set up all these parental controls and you feel that your kids are playing in a safe haven, even within these games, they could be targeted,” she told her local news station. 

Many families lose much more. The losses reported to the FBI for cybercrime against children increased more than 250% between 2022 and 2024 — and more than 920% from 2021.2 Crimes against children rose from 2,361 in 2023 to 4,472 last year. By complaint loss, bad actors scammed $519,424 from children in 2024. While many parents are wisely concerned about bullying and sexual predation online, financial fraud is a real and growing threat as well. And according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, digital marketplaces do not have the same kinds of fraud protection as the real world.3

Here's what all parents should know about the financial scams that may be lurking in your kids' online games. 


The Data Behind Gaming Dangers

Peer pressures and the pervasiveness of digital culture put parents in a tight spot these days. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says kids eight through 12 spend four to six hours a day on screens — and older kids spend up to nine.4 Even the most concerned parents can't monitor every minute of it. For many, it feels necessary to trust that most kids' apps are safe.

This can be an especially fraught gamble with video games — which 45.7 million U.S. kids played in 2024.5 An analysis by cybersecurity company Kaspersky detected more than seven million attacks related to popular kids' video games in 2022 — a 57% increase over 2021.6 The top two apps exploited apps were the incredibly popular Minecraft and Roblox games. 

So much for trusting kids' games to be safe for kids. Parents shouldn't count on the games themselves taking action. In response to a 2025 lawsuit against Roblox7 by parents alleging the platform to be a “real-life nightmare for children,” the CEO of Roblox recently said, "If you’re not comfortable, don’t let your kids be on Roblox."8


Financial Scams in Games (Illegal and Otherwise)

Scammers target kids in online games with a variety of tactics and with several different illegal or unethical goals in mind.


Malicious Downloads

The Kaspersky analysis found 40,000 malicious files that affected 232,000 users in 2022.6 This may be the easiest scam, as it doesn't take much to convince a kid to download something that seems cool for free. According to Kaspersky, kids often see a pop-up appear in a game that looks native to the game with an offer for free currency or bonus items for the game. When kids click to download, malicious software installs itself, which can spy on or otherwise compromise the device. 

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Losses reported to the FBI for cybercrime against children increased more than 250% between 2022 and 2024 — and more than 920% from 2021.

Phishing Links

Similarly, kids may be lured by promises of free game currency or bonus items, but instead of downloading software, they are asked to click on a link — a common scam called phishing.9 This link takes them to a malicious site that asks for sensitive information, ranging from their gaming account info to personal data. Scammers can use this information to make purchases through the victim's game account or to sell or commit fraud with their personal data. 


Digital Stranger Interactions

Interacting with unknown avatars — digital representations of a player — poses a number of risks, from financial exploitation (manipulating a child into sharing their personal data or gaming currency) to grooming and sexual predation. Sometimes a predator/scammer will combine sexual and financial exploitation together in the horrifying acts of sextortion, pressuring kids into creating explicit materials and then using the materials to extort money from them.9 The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations received more than 13,000 online sextortion of minors reports between October 2021 and March 2023.10


Unauthorized Purchases

It may be both legal and preventable, but that doesn't stop unauthorized in-app spending from happening. News stories of parents finding their kids have accidentally spent $800, $1200, or even $4,000 in legal online gaming stores are easy to find.11,12,13 Sometimes a game will refund parents, but there is no guarantee they will. Parents have the option of not giving their kids access to funds and setting spending limits, so they are ultimately responsible. And, once again, the CFPB recognizes the lack of consumer financial protections within online gaming marketplaces.3


How to Protect Kids from Financial Exploitation Online

While some video game safety advocates recommend parents play with their kids to ensure safety, this isn't always feasible for busy parents and gaming-obsessed kids. Common Sense Media shares far more attainable tips for parents:9

Teach kids to:

  • Never share login or personal details, even if it appears to be the game itself asking.
  • Don't believe offers that seem too good to be true.
  • Only download games or mods from official websites or app stores — with parental review and permission.
  • Tell an adult any time anything suspicious happens, whether it's an odd pop-up or an avatar asking for information about them.

Parents should:

  • Use parental controls on their child's device and within each app.
  • Monitor or require approval for all purchases and account activity.
  • Talk openly about their gaming activity and digital literacy, including scams, red flags, and how to spot them. Help them feel comfortable enough to share anything that feels odd without fear of losing games or screen time.
  • Before starting a new game, review it together and talk about whether or not it seems safe and appropriate.

Video games can be intellectually challenging and creativity-building activities for kids. But parents shouldn't assume any online video game is safe from scammers. With some education, monitoring, parental controls, and communication, kids and parents can both feel good about (a moderate amount) of screen time.

If you believe you or your child has been a victim of fraud, follow the steps in our article, "What to Do if You Are a Victim of Fraud," right away.

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Important disclosure information

Asset allocation and diversifications do not ensure against loss. This content is general in nature and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment advice. You are encouraged to consult with competent legal, tax, accounting, financial or investment professionals based on your specific circumstances. We do not make any warranties as to accuracy or completeness of this information, do not endorse any third-party companies, products, or services described here, and take no liability for your use of this information.

  1. Local News 8 News Team, "Online gaming scam offers kids free currency," Local News 8, published October 8, 2019. Accessed May 2, 2025. Back
  2. Internet Crime Complaint Center, "Internet Crime Report 2024," Federal Bureau of Investigation, published April 2025. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  3. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "Banking in video games and virtual worlds," published April 4, 2024. Accessed May 16, 2025. Back
  4. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, "Screen Time and Children," published May 2024. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  5. Entertainment Software Association, "Essential Facts About the U.S. Video Game Industry," published May 2024. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  6. Kaspersky, "The dark side of kids’ virtual gaming worlds," Kaspersky Daily, published 2023. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  7. Tjitske de Vries, "Roblox called 'real-life nightmare for children' as Roblox and Discord sued," Malwarebytes Labs, published February 26, 2025. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  8. Pieter Arntz, "Don’t let your kids on Roblox if you’re not comfortable, says Roblox CEO," Malwarebytes Labs, published March 13, 2025. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  9. Brenna Leasor, "Cyber Threats Lurk in Kids' Gaming: What Parents Should Know," Common Sense Media, published March 19, 2025. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  10. FBI Public Affairs Officer Elizabeth Clement-Webb, "Sextortion: A Growing Threat Targeting Minors," FBI Memphis, published January 23, 2024. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  11. Yi-Jin Yu, "Mom shares lessons learned after son spends over $800 on Roblox purchases," Good Morning America, published December 23, 2022. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  12. Nicole Pelletiere, "Mom says child racked up $1,250 bill while playing online game," Good Morning America, published March 26, 2021. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back
  13. Doug Vollmayer and Elizabeth Schulze, "Parents share warning after son spends $4,000 playing video games," ABC News, published April 4, 2024. Accessed May 19, 2025. Back