Care Leavers (16–25)
Online safety for care-experienced young people leaving care — new independence, new accounts and devices, and a higher exposure to financial scams, romance fraud, and exploitation.
Care leavers are young people, usually aged 16–25, who are moving from being looked after into independent living. It is a period of big change — a new home, managing money for the first time, setting up their own devices and accounts — and often with less of the family safety net their peers rely on. That combination can raise their exposure to financial scams, romance fraud, money-muling recruitment, and exploitation, all of which increasingly begin online.
Why this matters
Research by Become and the Children's Commissioner highlights how care leavers can face this transition with limited support. Online, that can mean no one to sense-check a 'too good to be true' message, an unexpected windfall, or a new online relationship. Care-experienced young people are also known to be targeted for criminal exploitation, including as money mules. Practical, non-patronising online-safety and financial-safety knowledge is part of preparing for independence.
Quick wins
Turn on two-factor authentication on their email, bank, and main social accounts
Time: 20 minutes
Learn the one rule that stops most money-muling: never let anyone use your bank account or move money for them
Time: 10 minutes
Save the numbers for a trusted personal adviser and for scam/fraud reporting (Action Fraud)
Time: 10 minutes
Common challenges
Managing money independently for the first time, with scams targeting exactly that
Cover the common scams — fake jobs, 'easy money' money-muling, advance-fee and romance fraud — and the simple checks: never move money for someone else, and pause before acting on urgent messages.
Setting up new devices and accounts without a family member to help
Point young people (and their personal advisers) to plain-English setup and privacy steps, and to two-factor authentication to protect new accounts.
Higher risk of exploitation and being targeted online
Be clear about what exploitation and money-muling look like, that it is never their fault, and where to get confidential help. Keep the message strengths-based, not fearful.