Pint-sized prey: 1 in 5 Aussie children fall victim to scammers
Scammers are targeting Aussie kids in their millions as criminals stoop to a new low, according to new research by Finder.
A Finder survey of 1,034 respondents, 338 of whom have a child under 18, revealed 1 in 5 parents (20%) admit their offspring have fallen victim to a scam in the past 12 months.
A further 4% had been scammed in the past 12-24 months.
That's more than 1.3 million children who have been scammed in the past 2 years.
1 in 10 (10%) Aussie parents say the only reason their child hadn't been scammed over the past year was because they had stepped in and stopped it.
Sarah Megginson, personal finance expert at Finder and mother-of-three, said it was a scary reality that kids were now being targeted by scammers.
"Scammers are now going after minors, which is terrifying for parents.
"Children don't necessarily have the experience to spot red flags, so they can be more vulnerable to falling for these tricks."
Finder's research shows almost 1 in 10 (9%) parents said their child was targeted in person, 7% said they were targeted on the phone, while 4% had fallen victim to an online scam via email or social media.
Megginson urged parents to have open conversations with their younger ones about scams and the red flags to look out for.
"Simple steps like setting up parental controls, monitoring their online activity, and teaching kids to be careful who they interact with online can go a long way in keeping them safe.
"Just making them aware of how common scams are and sharing with them examples in the news can help make them more aware of the dangers."
Has your child (under 18 only) been scammed in the past 12 months?
| Yes, in person | 9% |
| Yes, on the phone | 7% |
| Yes, online via social media/email | 4% |
| No, but they have in the past 12-24 months | 4% |
| No, but only because I've stepped in and stopped it | 10% |
| No, none of the above | 67% |
| Source: Finder survey of 1,034 respondents, 338 of whom have a child under 18, August 2025 |  |
Methodology
- Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker is a monthly recurring nationally representative survey of more than 60,000 respondents.
- Figures in this release are based on 1,034 respondents, 338 of whom have a child under 18, from August 2025.
- The Consumer Sentiment Tracker is owned by Finder and operated by Qualtrics.
- The survey has been running monthly since May 2019.
Sources
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