Why We Believe New Age-Assurance Rules Will Create a New Wave of Phishing Scams Targeting Teens
- The White Hatter
- 47 minutes ago
- 4 min read
CAVEAT - We have seen some chatter in the phishing community about using the new age-assurance rules to their advantage when it comes to youth and teens.
Social media platforms are rolling out new age-assurance rules in response to government pressure and evolving safety regulations. These changes are meant to help confirm that young people meet the minimum age requirements for using certain apps. While this may help improve platform safety, it also opens the door to a predictable problem; scammers will be using these updates as a new pretext to target teens given their vulnerability to online scams (1)
Criminals pay attention to emerging trends. When a major platform announces a new policy, especially one tied to security, verification, or account access, scammers move quickly to exploit the confusion. Age-assurance requirements are the perfect opportunity for them, because youth and teens worry deeply about losing access to their social media accounts. That emotional trigger is exactly what scammers count on.
Here’s what we believe parents and caregivers need to know, and how you can help your youth and teen stay ahead of what we believe will be a new wave of phishing attacks that will target our kids.
How can scammers use age-assurance announcements as bait?
When youth and teens hear that an app or game they use daily now requires “age-verification,” they expect an email or notification telling them what to do next. Scammers use that expectation to their advantage.
They send messages that look official, often using:
Platform logos
Accurate colours and fonts
Believable language about “policy updates” or “regional safety requirements”
References to real companies such as ConnectID or Yoti
• A sense of urgency, such as “verify now or risk losing access”
Because this process is new, many teens won’t know what a legitimate age-assurance message actually looks like. Scammers rely on that uncertainty.
So what could these fake text or emails look like?
Here is an educational example of one that we created of what a phishing message might say:
Subject: Snapchat Age Assurance Notice
Hello,
As part of ongoing global safety requirements, some regions now require platforms to confirm that users meet a minimum age threshold, such as 16 years old. Snapchat is work with verified age-assurance partners like ConnectID and Yoti to help complete this process quickly and securely.
To help walk you through this process, so that you still have access to your account, we have provided a “how-to-guide” to make this process easier for our users that you can find here:
https://support.snapchat.com/age-assurance
We here at Snapchat want to ensure that your privacy is protected, and that you still have full access to your Snapchat account.
Snapchat Trust & Verification Team
Once the teen clicks the link, they are taken to a spoofed website designed to look identical to the real platform. From there, scammers prompt them to enter login credentials, upload ID, or even scan their face. Anything entered into these fake portals goes straight to criminals.
There are three suggestibility tactics that make these scams particularly effective:
1. Fear of Losing Their Account
For many teens, their social media presence isn’t just entertainment, it’s their social life, friend network, creative outlet, and in some cases part-time income. The thought of losing access can spark panic, which leads to impulsive clicking.
2. High Trust in Platform Messaging
Teens rarely question whether a message is real if it looks polished and mentions safety or account protection. Scammers know this and replicate official wording with incredible accuracy.
3. Comfort With Technology Doesn’t Equal Caution
Teens may be fluent in using apps but still inexperienced in evaluating risk. Phishing relies more on emotional manipulation than tech knowledge.
It is important to remember that scammers aren’t trying to confirm a child’s age. Their goal is to gather personal and biometric data that can be used for:
identity theft
account takeover
impersonation
resale on criminal marketplaces
• further targeted scams
Once a youth or teen enters login details or uploads ID into a spoofed site, the damage is often immediate and difficult to undo.
So, what can parents, caregivers, and educators do? Teach our youth and teens to:
1. Never click a link in an unexpected email or text
Even if the message looks flawless and uses the right branding, teach teens to go directly to the official platform website or app and check their notifications there.
If the message is legitimate, it will show up in their account settings.
2. Real platforms will never ask for sensitive information over email or text
No legitimate social media company will ask a user to enter credentials, upload ID, or complete facial recognition from a link sent by email or text.
3. Look for signs of pressure, urgency, or consequences
Scammers lean hard on messages like:
“Your account will be locked soon”
“You must verify immediately”
• “Failure to act will remove your access”
Real companies don’t use that tone.
4. Keep youth and teens informed about the newest tactics
Online phishing evolves quickly. Letting teens know what to expect helps remove the surprise factor, which is often what scammers rely on.
Scammers are skilled at using current events and policy changes to build convincing pretexts. Age-assurance rules, we believe, will be their newest tool. With teens already anxious about account access, phishing messages built around verification requirements are likely to be very effective over the coming months.
This is why ongoing conversations matter. Encourage your kids to pause before they click, verify messages through official channels, and come to you when something feels off. A few minutes of caution can prevent consequences that may take weeks or months to fix, if they can be fixed at all.
Digital Food For Thought
The White Hatter
Facts Not Fear, Facts Not Emotions, Enlighten Not Frighten, Know Tech Not No Tech
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