A psychologist explained why scammers target children

Brief retelling from RIA II

Fraudsters target children and teenagers as their victims, as they are the most vulnerable to manipulation.

Teenagers are often emotional and want to get what they want right away, which attackers use for their own purposes.

The Exit 31 project has been launched in Russia, aimed at helping teenagers who are forced to commit crimes under threats and psychological pressure.

MOSCOW, October 12 – RIA Novosti. Fraudsters target children and teenagers, since they are the most vulnerable to manipulation, candidate of pedagogical sciences, associate professor, practical psychologist Yulia Chelysheva told reporters.

“This is the most vulnerable age, adolescence - these are people who already want to be adults, but still... do not have that level of critical thinking,” Chelysheva said in response to the question of why scammers and recruiters choose children as their targets.

She added that teenagers are very emotional and want to get what they want right away, for example, money or independence, which is what attackers take advantage of.

A special project “Exit 31” has been launched in Russia to help teenagers who are forced to commit crimes under threats and psychological pressure. The project combined outdoor advertising, posters, television commercials and content for social networks.