Playing on fear: Why scammers started using blackmail against children
Fraudsters are increasingly using blackmail against children because of their psychological vulnerability and low digital literacy, experts warn. The child easily panics due to the threat of "criminal liability", which scammers are afraid of, is unable to critically assess the situation and often has access to the devices and finances of the parents, which makes him a "weak link" in the information security of the family. Read more about possible schemes, their dangers and ways of protection in the Izvestia article.
Why are scammers interested in blackmailing children?
Fraudsters are increasingly using blackmail against children because of their psychological vulnerability and low digital literacy, Alexandra Shmigirilova, GR director of the Security Code information security company, told Izvestia. Children are manageable and inexperienced interlocutors in the social sphere, they are very easy to manipulate, which means they are easy victims for scammers.
"For the most part, children are used to listening to adults, and given that scammers always speak very convincingly, even to adult interlocutors, it is quite easy for an attacker to attract the attention of a child and manipulate him," says the expert.
According to Alexandra Shmigirilova, children cannot critically analyze what they say, because they simply do not have enough experience in real life yet, so they believe in everything that their adult interlocutors tell them. The child easily panics due to the threat of "criminal liability", which scammers are afraid of, is unable to critically assess the situation and often has access to the devices and finances of his parents, which makes him a "weak link" in protecting the family.
The average teenager today has a fairly large digital footprint — it is not difficult for fraudsters to collect information about him and use artificial intelligence (AI) to create plausible messages and deepfakes, adds Sergey Polunin, head of the IT infrastructure solutions protection group at Gazinformservice. It is also important that children seek help less often, the expert notes.
What schemes of child blackmail are used by scammers?
Blackmail is the most relevant technique for fraudsters, which attackers use against underage victims, says Sergey Polunin. At the same time, the variations of blackmail can be very different — through extortion of personal data or photos, the creation of deepfakes or the invention of improbable stories.
"For example, a child may be told that his account on one of the popular online services will be permanently blocked if he does not perform certain actions," the source tells Izvestia. — In general, extortion in game chats is a scourge of modern gaming communities.
Fraudsters can gradually lead a child to perform actions that look illegal or socially frowned upon, adds Alexander Vinokurov, R-Vision's technical account manager. It all starts with harmless requests, but gradually pressure builds up: the child is hinted that he is already "involved" and now has to complete the next task, otherwise there will be consequences.
In turn, Alexandra Shmigirilova notes that today scammers often use so-called police blackmail. In this case, the attacker, posing as a law enforcement officer, calls or texts the child and accuses him of hacking or another serious crime. To "avoid criminal liability," a teenager must follow instructions: transfer money to a "secure account" or install a remote access program such as AnyDesk, under the pretext of "checking the device."
— A separate block of schemes is tied to the use of shame and intimacy — for example, it can be the luring of personal photos and explicit correspondence, sometimes under the guise of a game, a challenge or a "secret club," says Yakov Filevsky, an expert on sociotechnical testing at Angara Security. — For a teenager, whose self-esteem and social identity are still being formed, the fear of public humiliation is often more powerful than the fear of real legal consequences. As a result, the child is kept in a long cycle of submission and can actively contribute to fraudsters.
What are the dangers of fraudsters' schemes to blackmail children?
The goals of scammers are always the same — to gain access to a person's personal data and finances, only the ways differ, says Alexandra Shmigirilova. In the case of child blackmail, the scammers chose a way to get to the finances of the parents through the children. They seek to gain direct access to the parents' bank accounts through the child's actions, steal confidential data (passwords, photos) for further blackmail or sale, and install malicious software to remotely control the device.
"The main goal is to turn a child into a manageable tool for accessing adult resources,— says Yakov Filevsky in an interview with Izvestia. — The second task is to consolidate the child's state of learned helplessness: he is taught that he is guilty, has committed a crime, and now everything depends on the fraudster.
As the expert explains, this is how the young victim gets the feeling that there are no good outcome options: it's scary to admit, it's pointless to resist, it remains only to obey in the hope of reducing the punishment. In this state, each new request from a fraudster is perceived not as an aggravation, but as a chance to fix the situation at least a little. The third goal is to transfer the risk and responsibility to the child and his family. It's as if the actions are not performed by the fraudster himself, but everything happens voluntarily.
—Such attacks by scammers are aimed at children aged 10-16,— says Alexandra Shmigirilova. — Their danger lies not only in financial losses, but also in the psychological trauma of the child (stress, guilt), undermining trust in the family and the risk of involving the minor in criminal activities.
How to protect yourself from scams involving child blackmail?
In order to protect children from fraud schemes related to blackmail, experts interviewed by Izvestia advise following certain safety rules. As Yakov Filevsky explains, a child needs a clear internal scenario: any online message about money, debts, criminal liability, problems with parents, demands for intimate photos automatically means one thing — to stop the conversation and immediately show the correspondence to an adult. Don't argue, don't make excuses, just share the situation.
— The second pillar is the reaction style of the parents: if the child lives in a model of reliable attachment, that is, perceives the parent as a reliable source of comfort and security, then the blackmailer loses the main weapon — the fear of disclosure, — says the specialist.
It is important to speak directly with the child: if you have problems, we, the parents, will always help. Then the threat of "I'll tell my parents everything" from the attacker ceases to frighten the child, and recognition turns into a way out of trouble for him, not into a catastrophe, notes Yakov Filevsky. It is on this foundation that the technical layer is built: a separate device or profile for a child without access to banking applications and work correspondence, strict limits on payments and the absence of saved passwords wherever possible.
However, these restrictions themselves are easily circumvented if the child can be intimidated, the expert says. Therefore, work protection is a combination of approaches. As part of it, the child knows which words and situations are a "red flag" on the Web, is sure that he will not be scolded for asking for help, and technically has a minimum of ways to harm the family, even if he succumbed to blackmail for a while.
— Parents need to set up parental control, not store passwords and card data in the browser, and also use separate cards with a limit for children's purchases, — concludes Alexandra Shmigirilova. — The most important thing is to talk openly with the child about the dangers and create a clear rule: never transfer money, do not provide codes or install programs at the request of strangers, and in case of any such situation, immediately tell the parents without fear of punishment.
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