Key Points
- One in four teenagers fall victim to scams on social media, according to new research.
- Two of the most common scams involve buying and selling items online, and ‘sextortion’.
- Impersonation fraud and job and investment scams are also on the rise.
There has been a major uptick in scammers targeting underage victims, new data has revealed.
Westpac research has found one in four teenagers has fallen for scams on social media amid concerns about how social media affects the youth.
Some 97 per cent of teenagers use social media an average of almost three hours a day, data from the bank shows.
How are teenagers getting scammed?
A survey of over 1,000 parents with teenagers aged 13 to 17 revealed that more than a quarter of teens had fallen victim to social media scams, often related to buying or selling products or services.
Westpac financial crime and fraud prevention general manager Chris Whittingham said buying and selling scams often occur through fake websites or online marketplaces.
“Scammers entice victims with competitive prices for high-demand items like concert tickets or designer clothes,” he said.
According to Whittingham, “sextortion” scams are also becoming increasingly common among young Australians.
“It’s really alarming to see such a big spike in the number of scammers tricking young people into sending compromising information online,” he said.
“Scammers will then use this information to extort money from the victim, often requesting a number of small payments over a period of time.”
Whittingham said scammers also pose as teenagers online, building trust with young Australians over time and gathering information about their victims.
“It’s really important to be conscious about how much information you share on social media and other websites,” he said.
“Scammers can use anything you post to piece information together about you — like what school or university you attend, sports you play, or suburb you live in — which they then use to form a connection with you or even impersonate you.”
In addition to these scams, impersonation frauds — where scammers pose as businesses or individuals to steal personal information or funds —and job and investment scams, where criminals impersonate well-known businesses or government organisations, are also on the rise.
How can you protect under-18s from scams?
To protect teenagers from scams, Westpac recommends parents and guardians take an active role in guiding their children when they go online.
Children should be warned about being cautious about who they talk with online or offers that appear “too good to be true” and the amount of personal information they give out through social media.
Parents and guardians are also advised to regularly check privacy settings and passwords, utilise parental control tools on their children’s devices, and secure banking features like PayID.
Westpac’s customer and corporate services group executive Carolyn McCann says that aside from parental control, companies too have an important part in ensuring safety.
“It’s time these companies took the safety of their users seriously and did something to stop scams,” she said.
Could social media age restrictions help?
Around half of parents and their children believe social media usage should be restricted to people aged 16 and older.
Although most social media platforms have policies against use by children under 13, eSafety Commissioner research found that one in four children aged eight to 10 uses social media at least once a week.
Westpac recommends parents and guardians take an active role in guiding their children when they go online. Credit: Yui Mok / PA
The eSafety Commissioner has questioned several social media platforms about the number of children using their services and the measures in place to prevent underage access.
A joint social media summit by NSW and South Australian state premiers will be held in October to discuss the impact of social media on the youth.
Additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
