TULSA, Okla. — 12-year-old Reese Osburn loves playing Roblox.
It's an online game players can use in lots of ways. They can play alone or in groups. Osburn's older cousin introduced him to it when he was six.
Online games like Roblox are big business, with 3.5 billion players worldwide, according to James Higgs.
Higgs is a doctoral student at the University of Tulsa studying malicious activity and cyber crimes in online gaming.
He shared some statistics about gaming, such as one in three people in the United States is a gamer, with 82% under the age of 18 playing weekly. He adds that for Roblox, 40% of its players are 13 years old or younger.
This big pool of players is attractive to more than just those making and selling games.
It's also the target of fraudsters out to rip off young players in a variety of ways.
Through enticing them to click on malicious links that:
- dupe them into sharing malware, installing back doors into computers or other devices to allow cyber criminals to access passwords, personal or financial information
- allows cyber crooks to steal gaming accounts
- or, compromise children's privacy
Osburn credits his older cousin with helping him learn to spot and understand how scammers try to trick kids.
"I was on my grandma's phone one time when I was like nine - it was like type in your password," he said.
The message was a malicious attempt to trick him by offering some "free stuff" for his Roblox game in exchange for the information.
"My cousin was sitting next to me and was like 'DO NOT DO THAT' and I was like, why? He was like that's a scam. They will get into grandma's password and she will not be happy with you," Osburn said.
Higgs told 2 News research shows having an older sibling or cousin alert younger kids to scam tactics is a good way for them to learn to avoid fraudster's traps.
They feel comfortable with the information coming from older kids who also play the games and have learned what to avoid.
Osburn said he also learned ways to avoid scammers in school.
Higgs told 2 News that both options help protect kids.
He also mentioned game makers like Roblox have forums that alert players to potential scams, however, "The problem there then is like, do children know about these forums that they must go there and read these forums, right? Or, is this just information that's being posted there and not being used?"
Osburn told 2 News about another precaution he uses to be a little safer while playing online. He only plays through his Xbox instead of on a phone or computer.
"That's the main place where adults can like talk to your kid or anything or people can talk to your kid because they can actually chat with you on a mobile phone, laptop or PC, a personal computer, but on Xbox, you can't do that. You can only chat with them if you're actually in the game with them. I mean, it's still kind of dangerous on Xbox if you friend them and then if you're just (shrugs), it's a lot more safer than a PC or stuff like that. Less exposure."
Higgs says that ultimately, having open communication with your kids about gaming safely and what makes them vulnerable can help prevent scammers from stealing their fun and a lot more.
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