Children as young as EIGHT have lost money to scams – how to educate young people (and yourself) on Safer Internet Day

Let that sink in. Most banks don’t even let children open accounts for themselves until they are 16.

This awful stat comes from new research by the UK Safer Internet Centre, which also found that 79% of young people come across online scams at least monthly, with 20% seeing them every day.

At MoneySavingExpert, we work really hard to try and help people protect themselves from scams – that's why we wrote our 30+ ways to stop scams guide. But they are getting ever more sophisticated and we often hear from people whose lives – their finances and their wellbeing too – have been devastated by the work of online criminals.

As a scams expert, my heart sinks when I hear victims say to me, "I am so embarrassed", and "I am such a fool for falling for it." To them I say – you are not responsible for what happened to you. And it turns out, over a quarter of young people who’ve been scammed online blame themselves. Imagine the impact that can have on someone’s life if they’ve lost money to a scam at such a young age. It isn’t their fault.

We’ve long campaigned to make tech companies more legally responsible for the scam ads they’ve been paid to publish. We care a lot about this issue – scams being the crime you are most likely to fall victim to in the UK, and the majority of cases originating online.

That’s why MSE is supporting this year’s Safer Internet Day, on Tuesday 11 February 2025. And I’m pleased that, along with this day of awareness, comes a whole host of help to talk to your families about scams, how to avoid them, and who to tell.

What is Safer Internet Day?

Safer Internet Day is an annual celebration of online safety, led by the UK Safer Internet Centre. Thousands of supporters, including schools, businesses, regulators and the government, all get together to raise awareness and educate young people and adults alike on important online safety topics.

What’s MoneySaving about that?

Lots, in fact! One of the most prolific online safety issues in this country is the horrendous flood of scams on social media, websites, emails, games and even messaging apps where people are scammed out of their money.

This year’s Safer Internet Day is highlighting exactly that, with the theme: "Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online."

As I’ve mentioned, we at MoneySavingExpert have long campaigned for tighter regulations around online scam ads. Our founder Martin Lewis has appallingly had his face used in these ads by criminals tricking people into parting with their cash. Some progress has been made, but there’s a lot more that needs to be done.

Young people agree. The UK Safer Internet Centre research also found that 85% of young people think that social media and other online platforms need to do more to tackle scams, and 81% believe the government should get more involved in tackling them.

So, we are really pleased to support this year’s day of awareness-raising and learning – and to help you, our MoneySavingExpert users, have important discussions with the children and young people in your lives.

Here’s what Martin, whose face is used in more scam ads than anyone else, says:

You’ve got my attention! How can I help myself and my family be more aware of scams online?

Luckily, the Safer Internet Day website has us covered. The team there have created some really helpful resources, which I think are great rainy-day activities to sit down and do with your family (if you don’t have time on the day itself, you could always save it for something to do over half term). Here’s my top pick for MoneySavingExpert readers…

• Top tips for parents and carers: Keeping you and your loved ones safe online – which also comes with specially adapted tips for parents and carers of younger children (ages 3-7).

• Online quizzes for different age groups. The quizzes challenge young people to think about whether what they are seeing might be a scam, what they should do and who they can tell – using real-life examples like unexpected messages, online shopping, fake competitions, bogus virus protection and gaming scams. For older teenagers, the quiz also covers sextortion (online blackmail involving threats over intimate photos), dodgy investment and crypto ‘opportunities’, and hacked social media accounts. For young children, they focus on who they can safely tell if they see something worrying. Try the quizzes for ages 3-7, 7-11, 11-14 and 14-18.

• If you’re a teacher, nursery worker, youth group leader, librarian or any other kind of educator, there are also brilliant resource bundles. You can download activity packs, presentations and even assemblies with scripts and notes – with different variations for different age groups. Even if you’ve missed Safer Internet Day itself, it’s never too late to plan something in on online safety. These all also come in the Welsh and Irish language.

One final piece of advice…

Nothing is more powerful than talking. As we often say, with all things financial, young people understand more than you might think if you are open and honest with them. Try to be brave and talk to them about times you have been scammed, and what worries you have about scams affecting them. This will also reinforce the trust that they can come to you if they ever find themselves scammed.

If you think you’ve fallen victim to a scam, here’s an urgent checklist of what you should do:

1. If you've already responded to a scam, end all further communication immediately.

2. Call your bank directly and cancel any payments that haven't yet been made. For speed and ease, you can call the 159 hotline instead – this will connect you directly with your bank.

3. Report the scam via the Action Fraud website or call it on 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales or Northern Ireland). If you're in Scotland, report a scam via the Consumeradvice website or call it on 0808 164 6000. You can also report scams to Police Scotland on 101.

4. Be extra vigilant and look out for any more suspicious activity. Change passwords and check bank accounts in case scammers use your details again.