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This Safer Internet Day, a new campaign from Vodafone has revealed that nearly one million (839,127) British children aged 11-16 have been scammed online in the last 12 months, with those aged 13 most likely to be affected.
One fifth (22%) of these scams are occurring on gaming platforms, whilst nearly eight in 10 (78%) take place on social media platforms. Focus groups revealed how fraudsters are taking advantage of trusted platforms and the way they are designed to target young people, capitalising on their vulnerabilities, including financial insecurity, tech reliance and social pressure.
Young people say the con they are targeted with the most (on average more than once a week2) sees scammers creating phony ads or quizzes, which appear to be from well-known brands, to lure them into parting with personal information or buying fake products.
The study, which analysed the experiences of 2,000 parents and kids (11-16), as well as over 4,800 teachers, found that over 3,0003 attempts are made to scam young people online every single day. Eight in 10 (81%) parents report that these online actions have real life, long-lasting consequences as their children’s behaviour changed after being scammed, seeing increased anxiety, depression and mood swings.
Online harm expert, Catherine Knibbs, who contributed to the study, added: “Cyber-crime and scams are so prevalent amongst young people given their extensive presence on the platforms and vulnerabilities associated with being a young person. They are generally more trusting, so may not have the capacity or emotional regulation skills to understand whether something is fake, or potentially a scam. Vodafone’s study found that 60% of young people don’t know where to turn for help, which can result in the emotional turmoil of shame, ridicule and, in some cases, mental health problems like anxiety and depression. I’m proud to team up with Vodafone in their bid to make the internet safer by design and offer parents and kids tips and guidance around staying safe online.”
Worryingly, online scams are becoming more common, with nearly half (49%) of young people who took part in the study stating they’ve been targeted by more spam content in the last 12 months than ever before.
Scammed and shaken: the hidden cost of digital deceit
The research found the average financial loss associated with scams is £103 per young person, but the hidden emotional cost is much higher. A fifth (21%) of young people reported that the worst part about being scammed was feeling like they’d been tricked, with almost half (47%) feeling angry at themselves.
As part of the study, Vodafone conducted focus groups with young people who have been victims of online scams, as well as parents and teachers. The young people in the groups reported feeling embarrassed, scared, shocked and disappointed in themselves.
One young participant spoke of her disappointment and the emotional impact after she lost her birthday money to an online scam: “It made me feel really, really bad… I was a teenager, so obviously £200 [the amount lost] was quite a large amount of money for me. It was detrimental to my mental health.”
Another who lost money when she was 16, reported feeling betrayed by an online ‘friend’: “I felt really naïve at the time because a lot of people talk about scamming and frauds, but because this person was my friend, I didn’t think they would do that to me. I felt quite embarrassed… it’s affected my friendships and stuff.”
The ripple effect: how the impact extends beyond the individual
Being the victim of a scam can have a knock-on effect on young people’s day-to-day lives with the impact felt by the wider family. Of the parents surveyed in the study, eight in 10 (84%) said that their child’s behaviour changed after being scammed, 69% of parents reported they became anxious and more prone to worrying, whilst nearly a quarter (24%) said they’d stopped doing the things they enjoy online like gaming or browsing.
The mother of a 10-year-old who was scammed on a gaming platform, said: “It kind of gave me the shock of my life. When I took the phone and saw the messages, I actually cried…”
Fear of being scammed online also impacts those who have never fallen victim. For one in 10 (11%) being scammed is their biggest online safety concern, while over three quarters (79%) said this fear causes them worry when they go online.
Hard lessons: teacher’s concerns about pupil’s digital safety
The study found that the emotional toll of online scams extends into the UK’s classrooms too. Vodafone spoke to secondary school teachers as part of the study, discovering one in five (19%) have taught pupils who have been victims of online scams.
According to the teachers surveyed, the most common scams reported by students involve catfishing (27%) and scams like spoof ads and giveaways (26%). Among school-related scams, fraudsters capitalise on student’s anxiety around exams and offer phony ‘leaked exam papers’, with 24% of teachers hearing about this from their pupils and 13% aware of an increase in scams involving ‘cheat sheets’.
One headteacher interviewed noted that behavioural changes were often the first indication that pupils had been involved in a scam, a sentiment echoed by many teachers. In fact, when pupils had been scammed online, teachers observed significant changes in their levels of anxiety and distress (43%) as well as an increase in conflicts with classmates (19%). Additionally, 20% reported increased levels of absence.
Nicki Lyons, Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer, Vodafone UK, said: “The online world is part of everyday life, but young people can only make the most of this if they feel safe to do so. As our latest study shows, scams targeting young people on the platforms they use regularly are on the rise and becoming ever-more sophisticated, so it’s important that calls to make the internet safer are heard.
2025 marks 15 years since we started working in the online safety space and it’s something that remains a core priority for us. I’m very proud of the work we do with our Digital Parenting Hub and alongside the NSPCC to support families as they navigate the online world together.”
In addition to its support in the online safety space, Vodafone UK is committed to protecting its customers from fraud. This includes proactively blocking phone numbers used by known scammers to send high volumes of calls and texts. The company currently blocks 1.7 million calls per day, and in 2024, Vodafone blocked more than 65 million suspected scam messages, all while ensuring that legitimate numbers were not blocked. As an industry, more than 1 billion suspected scam messages have been blocked since 2023.
Phish ’N’ Tips: An online safety hub for families in London
Finding the right resources is crucial for young victims as 60% admit they’re not sure where to turn to for help – a concern reflected by 40% of parents.
With the study finding most parents (69%) want more support and guidance in speaking to their child about online safety, the importance of trusted advice and resources is clear. This half-term Vodafone is opening a ‘Phish ’N’ Tips’ shop in Central London on Thursday 20 February to offer families free, expert advice to help spot online scams and deal with them. The pop-up is the latest initiative from Vodafone as part of its commitment to helping families build healthy digital habits and staying safe online and will give parents and young people access to online harm expert and Psychotherapist, Catherine Knibbs and specialists from NSPCC.
While talking about online scams can be tough, the Phish ’N’ Tips shop offers parents and young people a relaxed, non-judgemental space to drop in and get free expert advice, all while enjoying delicious complimentary fish and chips. Whether it’s how to spot a scam, what to do if you’ve been a victim or just brushing up on the latest online advice, the hub will offer an invaluable resource for today’s teens and their families.
What’s next: ensuring the internet is safe by design
With the rate of online scams increasing, 78% of parents are convinced that scammers are actively targeting their children and eight in 10 (87%) feel that tech platforms should be doing more to protect them.
Virtually every parent asked (99.7%) said it’s important to them for these platforms to have safety features to protect their kids, however just 18% of young people believe that the platforms do enough to keep them safe.
Anyone who wants to have their say, and help create a safer internet, can join Global Action Plan’s campaign urging MPs to show up for children’s safety and call for platforms to make their products safe by design: www.globalactionplan.org.uk/safer-internet.
If you or your child has been scammed online, you should report it to Action Fraud or call 0300 123 2040 (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or report it to Police Scotland by calling 101 (in Scotland). Any Vodafone customer can report suspicious texts by forwarding them to 7726.
Visit www.vodafone.co.uk/digitalparenting for more tools and resources, including Vodafone’s online safety toolkit, created in conjunction with NSPCC, which supports families to have online safety conversations and Vodafone’s free children’s eBook featuring new Fables for the digital age. Vodafone has also recently expanded its parental control resources, Digital Parenting Pro, to include emerging platforms such as Threads and Stars. These resources aim to help parents better understand the controls available, as well as educate them on the risks of scams and fraud.
