Kids and teens online

Nobody your kid meets in a game needs their password, a code from your email, a photo of them, or a gift card. If your kid shows you the ask before handing anything over, nothing is lost.

If it’s happening now

Someone is threatening to share a photo of your kid. Say you’re not angry before you say anything else. Then:

1. Don’t pay, and don’t send them anything else. NCMEC says paying rarely stops it.
2. Screenshot the threats, the account name, and any payment details. Not the photo. Don’t save, screenshot, or forward it, even to report it.
3. Report the account in the app, then block it. Don’t delete your kid’s account or the chat.
4. Report it to NCMEC’s CyberTipline, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, and to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. If it’s already posted, send the link to the post, not a copy of the image.
5. Have your kid use Take It Down on the phone or tablet the photo was taken on. It fingerprints the photo without uploading it, so apps that take part can find and remove copies.

Anyone who charges to remove the photo or get money back is running a second scam. Take It Down and the CyberTipline are free. Someone offers to get my money back.

If your kid talks about hurting themselves, stay with them and call or text 988. If anyone threatens to come to your home, call 911. Full steps: Someone is threatening to share photos of me.

An adult is sending your kid sexual messages, asking for photos, or asking to meet. Save the chat and the username, report the account in the app, and report it to the CyberTipline. If they’ve set up a meeting, call the police.

Someone is pushing your kid to hurt themselves or an animal, or to film it. Save the usernames and messages. Report it at ic3.gov and to the CyberTipline. If your kid is talking about hurting themselves, call or text 988. If anyone is in danger now, call 911. The FBI says groups doing this find kids, usually 10 to 17, through games and social apps.

Someone in a game wants a password, a code, or for your kid to go first in a trade. Stop answering, report the player, and block them. Nothing left your kid’s hands? You’re done.

What to say

• If anyone online asks for your password, a code, a photo, or money, come show me first. You won't be in trouble for showing me.

• I'm glad you told me. I'm not mad at you. They're the ones breaking the law, not you. We're not paying them, and we'll sort this out together.

• Show me the screen that's asking for the code.

• Nobody who really works for Roblox or Discord will message you for your password or a code. If someone does, come get me.

If something already left your hands

A password or a code

1. Secure the email address on the game account first. Password resets go there. Change its password from a device you trust.
2. Reset the game account’s password in the official app or on the official site. Then sign out of every other device (Roblox: Settings, Security, Where you’re logged in, Log Out of All Other Sessions).
3. Add a passkey or turn on two-step sign-in with an authenticator app. On Roblox: Settings, Account Info, Login Methods, Add Passkey; or Settings, Security, Authenticator App. Codes by text or email are better than nothing.

Discord. If the account’s email was changed, the old address got an email with a Start Account Recovery button. Use it today. It works for 48 hours, Discord can’t send a new one, and the real link starts with discord.com/wasntme/. Otherwise, report it at dis.gd/hackedaccount.

Roblox. Locked out? Contact Roblox support within 30 days, from the account’s first email address or the billing email from its first purchase, and ask about lost items or Robux. Roblox doesn’t promise to restore them.

A program they downloaded

A “game” to test, a Robux tool, a mod.

1. Stop using that computer. If someone could see or control the screen, hold the power button until it turns off.
2. From a phone or another computer, change passwords: email first, then Roblox, Discord, and anything saved in that computer’s browser, including your bank if you use it. Sign out of all other devices on each. These programs copy saved passwords.
3. Before anyone signs in on it again, run a full scan with Windows Security or your security software, restart, scan again, and remove browser extensions you don’t recognize. Or have someone you trust reset it.

More: I let someone control my computer.

Money

• A card number went into a site or a game. Call the number on the back of the card and ask for a new one. I paid with a credit or debit card.
• Gift cards. Call the company on the card now and ask them to freeze what’s left. Keep the cards and receipts. I paid with gift cards.
• A payment app. Report it inside the app, not through a number from a search. I paid with Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, or Apple Cash.
• They paid someone threatening a photo. Don’t pay again. Call the bank or payment app using the number on the card or inside the app, and say it was extortion. I paid or sent money.

What it looks like

Your 9-year-old has this open on the tablet and wants to finish it.

rbxclaimzone.com/free-robux

RBX CLAIM ZONE

FREE ROBUX 2026 - WORKING ON ALL DEVICES

Step 1: Enter your username
max_builds2016

Step 2: Choose your amount
800 | 2,000 | 4,500 | 10,000

Connecting to server... User found: max_builds2016
Adding 4,500 Robux... 92%

One last step. Verify you are human so bots can't abuse this generator.
Complete 2 short offers below and your Robux will arrive within 5 minutes.

We will NEVER ask for your password.

Your kid says, "It doesn't even ask for my password." What do you tell them?

• Fine. A username can't hurt anything
• Close it. Roblox announces its own promotions
• Do the offers, just don't type in a card number

Show the answers

• Wrong move Fine. A username can't hurt anything Typing the username does nothing. The 'verification' step is where it happens: surveys, app downloads, or a sign-in page dressed up as Roblox. Roblox says filling out online surveys is one of the most common ways players lose their accounts.
• Best move Close it. Roblox announces its own promotions Roblox calls claims of free Robux in exchange for account details a common trick. It says real promotions are announced on its blog, in the Notifications tab, or in a banner on its own site. Epic says real free V-Bucks offers show up in the Epic Games Store or on its official websites and social channels.
• Wrong move Do the offers, just don't type in a card number The offers are where they collect a phone number, an email address, or an app install. Finishing them doesn't unlock anything.

Free Robux and V-Bucks sites are a common way game accounts get stolen, even when they never ask for a password. Real offers are announced by the company, not on a site like this.

Your 12-year-old shows you this. Jaden is a real friend from school.

Discord jaden

Today at 4:12 PM

bro im so sorry

my little cousin was on my account and reported u for scamming as a joke

discord emailed me. they said ur account gets banned in 24 hours unless u talk to their staff

add this guy hes the one that fixed mine last time. appeals.trustsafety

wait fr??

ya hurry he goes offline at 6

What do you tell your kid?

• Add the staff account now, before the ban
• Ask Jaden in the chat if he's sure it was Discord
• Don't add anyone. Ask Jaden at school or by text

Show the answers

• Wrong move Add the staff account now, before the ban Discord says its staff never contact users through the Discord app for support. The 'staff' account then asks for a login, a code, a payment, or a QR code to scan, to 'appeal' the ban.
• Wrong move Ask Jaden in the chat if he's sure it was Discord If someone took over Jaden's account, they're the one answering. They'll say yes.
• Best move Don't add anyone. Ask Jaden at school or by text It came from a real friend's account, which is why it works. Asking Jaden outside Discord tells you whether he wrote it, and warns him if his account was taken over. Discord's own hacked-account page warns about fake employees offering to appeal actions on your account.

A real friend's account can send a scam. Check with the friend some other way.

7:40 p.m. Maya is 10 and upstairs on her tablet. The email address on her Roblox account is yours.

Maya

Text Message
Today 7:40 PM

mom can u check ur email

roblox sent u a code i need it

pls hurry

What do you do?

• Text her the code. It's her account
• Go up and look at what's asking for the code
• Text back: are you signing in, or did someone ask for it?

Show the answers

• Wrong move Text her the code. It's her account If a player or a fake Roblox page told her to get it, the code lets them into her account. Her text looks the same either way.
• Best move Go up and look at what's asking for the code If it's the Roblox app, or the address bar says roblox.com, and she just tapped Log In, type the code in for her. If it's another page, a chat, or a player, don't, and change her password from your phone. Roblox says its employees never ask for these codes.
• Okay Text back: are you signing in, or did someone ask for it? Better than sending it blind. But a kid on a fake Roblox sign-in page thinks she is signing in, and will say yes.

A code belongs in the real app, for the person signing in. Look at what's asking for it before you send it.

What they’ll ask for

“Free Robux. Just enter your username.” Close it. Roblox announces real promotions on its blog, in its Notifications tab, or in a banner on its site.

“I accidentally reported you. Message Discord staff or you’ll be banned.” Discord says its staff never contact users through the app for support. Check with the friend another way.

“Read me the code that just came to your email.” That code signs them in as your kid. Roblox says its employees never ask for it.

“You go first, then I’ll send mine.” Say no. Trade only with Roblox’s own Trade and Sell features. Roblox can’t return items lost in deals made any other way, and says to skip any deal where one person goes first.

“Try my game. I made it.” Don’t run it. Discord says “games” like this, and free Nitro (Discord’s paid upgrade) offers, are often built to steal logins. Already ran it? See “A program they downloaded” above.

“Let’s talk on another app.” The FTC and NCMEC both name this as a warning sign. The answer is “No thanks.”

“I’ll send one if you send one.” Don’t send anything. If a photo already went, go to the top of this page. NCMEC says teenage boys have been the most common targets.

“I’ll send you 1,000 Robux for one pic.” Say no, and find out who’s sending it. The FBI lists anonymous gifts, including game currency, as a sign a kid is being targeted. Some cases start with game credits offered for a picture.

Settings worth turning on

Menus checked October 3, 2026. If one has moved, search the app’s settings for the name in bold.

• Every game account. Put your own email address on a young kid’s account. Password resets and sign-in codes come to you.
• iPhone and iPad. On your phone: Settings, Family, your child, Apps & Websites, Restrictions, Ask to Buy, Require Purchase Approval. Communication Safety (Settings, Screen Time, your child) blurs nude images in Messages, AirDrop, and FaceTime. It’s on by default under 18 with current software.
• Android. In the Family Link app: your child, Controls, Google Play, Require approval for.
• Roblox. On your kid’s Roblox: Settings, Parental Controls, Add parent. You’ll verify your age with a government ID or a credit card. Then set a monthly spending limit, choose who can chat with them, and review their Connections. Chat needs an age check and stays within similar ages, apart from trusted friends.
• Fortnite and other Epic games. In the Epic Account Portal, require a PIN for purchases paid through Epic and for friend requests, and set who can voice and text chat. The PIN doesn’t cover a console’s own store, and the console’s voice chat may still work, so set the console’s controls too.
• Discord. Your teen connects you in User Settings, Account, Family Center. You’ll see new friends, who they messaged or called, servers joined, and purchases and gifts from the last 7 days. Not the messages. You can also limit who can send them friend requests and server DMs, and set a monthly spending cap (it doesn’t cover subscriptions).
• Instagram. Teen Accounts (13 to 17) are private by default, and only people they’re already connected to can message them. Under 16, loosening that takes your permission.

Gift cards slip past some of this. Apple says a redeemed code skips Ask to Buy, and Roblox’s spending limit doesn’t cover gift cards and may not apply on Xbox. The rest depends on the age the app has for your kid, so a kid who signed up with an adult birthday may get none of it.