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.
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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.
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A further 4% had been scammed in the past 12-24 months.
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That's more than 1.3 million children who have been scammed in the past 2 years.
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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.
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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.
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"Scammers are now going after minors, which is terrifying for parents.
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"Children don't necessarily have the experience to spot red flags, so they can be more vulnerable to falling for these tricks."
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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.
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Megginson urged parents to have open conversations with their younger ones about scams and the red flags to look out for.
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"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.
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"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."
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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 |  |
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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.
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Sources
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