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Is Your Child a Target? Alarming Gaming Scam Data Reveals Urgent Need for Parental Action
Alarming new data from 2025 shows almost half of gamers under 18 have been scammed and under 18s are three times more likely to be scammed than older players, making preparation for this February season more critical than ever.
With young gamers losing an average of £308.89 ($420.40) per scam incident, the upcoming months pose unprecedented financial and security risks for families.Anna Zhang, Head of Marketing at U7Buy and gaming security expert, reveals why parents need to act now to protect their children and family finances from sophisticated gaming scams. "Parents need to be extra vigilant about their children's gaming security.
Cybercriminals specifically target families because they know parents are busy shopping and children are excited about new games and accounts."
The shocking scale of gaming fraud targeting families
Anna Zhang's 5 essential steps to protect your family
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication on all gaming accounts: This should be a non-negotiable for any gaming platform your children use. Steam Guard, PlayStation 2-Step Verification, Xbox two-step verification and Epic Games 2FA all take under 5 minutes to set up. Even if a scammer gets their password, 2FA creates a second barrier.
- Add phone numbers for account recovery: Most parents don't know that adding a phone number to gaming accounts creates a backup recovery method. If your child's email gets compromised, you can still recover the account via text message.
- Set up accounts through official websites, not consoles: When your child gets a new gaming console, don't let them create accounts directly on the device. Set them up through the official website first, you'll access more security settings and parental controls that aren't available when creating accounts on the console itself. Or if you already have an account, go to the company’s website to access more security settings.
- Create unique passwords and use a password manager: Never use the same password for gaming accounts and email/banking. Gaming platforms are frequent targets, and hackers immediately try compromised passwords on financial accounts. Use a password manager like 1Password, Dashlane, or Bitwarden to generate unique, strong passwords for each platform, they can generate and store complex passwords your child won't need to remember.
- Monitor account activity and authorised devices: Check 'Authorised Devices' in account settings every so often, while it may be a hassle, this shows every device that's logged into the account. If you see unfamiliar devices, use the 'Sign out everywhere' option immediately. Look for unfamiliar logins, unusual purchases or changes to account settings. Gaming companies often provide minimal support when fraud occurs, so early detection is crucial.
Set spending limits and secure payment methods
Remove stored credit card details from gaming accounts when not actively purchasing, use prepaid cards or digital wallets instead. Set daily/weekly spending limits on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and Steam accounts. The Fortnite makers had an issue where they refunded £185 million to families for unauthorised purchases, don't let your family be next.
Warning signs your child's gaming account may be compromised:
- Unexpected charges on linked credit cards
- Friends receiving suspicious messages from their account
- Missing virtual items or currency
- Unable to log into accounts
- Changes to account email or password without your knowledge
Anna Zhang concluded, “The holiday season creates a perfect storm for gaming fraud, children are excited about new games, parents are busy shopping, and cybercriminals know families are spending more on digital entertainment. Gaming companies put the responsibility on individual players to prevent fraud, so parents must be proactive. Five minutes securing your child's gaming accounts today could prevent months of financial and emotional stress later.
The key is staying on top of account security before problems arise, once a gaming account is compromised, families can lose thousands and children lose years of progress." Gaming companies put the responsibility on individual players to prevent fraud, so parents must be proactive and implement proper security measures now, before the holiday rush begins.
English (US) ·