Deepfake, romance scam and games. This is how young people are robbed online
Young people are an easy target for scammers: quick deals, online romances, mobile phishing and gaming fraud hit them hardest.
A smartphone always at hand, hundreds of notifications a day and the belief that everything happens instantly on the Internet – this is an environment in which fraudsters feel at home. Young people use the Internet almost constantly, trust new acquaintances and eagerly respond to “opportunities”, which makes them an ideal target. Criminals make money on this in many ways: from small frauds, through “investments” in crypto, to sexual crimes and blackmail.
Gaming applications
The first category is preying on popular activities. In the news on TikTok, Instagram and gaming applications, there are offers of “jobs for likes”, quick earnings for testing accounts or instant profits in cryptocurrencies. The pattern is repeatable: first a compliment and an invitation to cooperate, then a form or a small “verification fee”. The end is the same – both the offer and the money disappear, and with them the digital identity.
The second group of methods is based on emotions and trust. Romance scams, fake profiles and sextortion increasingly target teenagers and young adults. It starts with an innocent like or a short conversation and ends with a request for intimate material. When a recording or photo reaches a fraudster, the pressure begins, counting down and demands for money under the threat of publication.
Mobile phishing is also getting smarter. Fake websites of stores, gaming applications and advertising websites look very similar to the originals, which harms users who act in a hurry. Clicking on a link from the messenger or logging in via a shortened address makes it easier to steal passwords, card details and take over the account.
In the gaming world, fraudsters target young people with attacks: fictitious items, currency exchanges, “free add-ons” sent on Discord and chats. Trust in peers and the promise of an advantage in the game often result in the loss of the account after providing login details or running a malicious script.
The new fuel for criminals is artificial intelligence. Image and text generators help create credible profiles, conversations and deepfakes, and bots conduct hundreds of chats in parallel, matching the language to the victim. Young people who are just learning to recognize manipulation are particularly vulnerable here – AI is not the source of the problem, but it gives fraudsters an advantage of scale and time.
How to protect yourself?
Why do they target young people? Habits increase the risk: weak passwords, public Wi-Fi, installing applications from unofficial sources, excessive sharing of data, peer pressure and the need to “stay up to date”. This reduces thinking time and encourages costly mistakes.
Effective education must be specific. Instead of generalities – real examples and instructions: how to check the identity of the interlocutor, how to verify links, what to do in the event of blackmail. It is worth recalling the basics: two-factor authentication, up-to-date software, downloading applications only from official stores, caution against “freebies” from instant messengers and the rule that intimate content should not be sent to anyone.
