Children as young as 10 are being taught in schools how to recognise the techniques of online scam artists, as part of a government-backed drive against 'money mules' who take control of their bank accounts.
Fraudsters have been found to approach children online with offers that require them to send money or bank details, before turning them into an unwitting accessory to their crimes. This may involve depositing a large amount of cash for a period of time, then leaving a small percentage as a 'gift' for the recipient, who might not realise they have played a part in a laundering scheme. As a consequence, their bank account can be blocked indefinitely and they can even face prosecution.
New lessons rolled out across England
A new lesson on financial exploitation is being rolled out to schools across England after being developed by police in the south-west. The goal is to get children wise to the kinds of tricks that may be pulled by criminals who want to take advantage of them.
Metro was welcomed into a classroom at Gainsborough Primary School in east London to watch one of the first lessons take place. In front of a group of attentive 10 and 11-year-olds, teacher Andrew Miles explained the definition of the word 'exploitation' and asked the pupils to split into pairs and discuss what 'financial exploitation' might mean. After handing out sheets of paper with three cartoon faces on them, he told the kids to consider the warning signs in the stories attached to each. In one example, Farrah was a gamer who was messaged by a stranger online; following a short time playing together, the stranger said they would send her money as a thank-you and asked for her bank details. The class agreed this sounded fishy, and that Farrah should let a trusted adult know what was going on.
Police and teachers back the initiative
Jordan Coates, fraud and cyber protect co-ordinator at South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, was one of the police officers behind the lesson plan. She told Metro: 'It's a full package, start to finish, where we have open safe discussions, there's support available, there's different communication styles to deliver it in. Hopefully by the end of it, these pupils come away feeling empowered to stand up and challenge inappropriate behaviour, say hang on a minute, no, I'm not comfortable with this contact and seek that support. My hope at the end of this is that no child ever faces the harm that we see from this criminality.'
Four bespoke lesson plans, tailored to different key stages for students between the ages of 10 and 18, were made available nationally yesterday. Teachers, parents and carers will also get information on different types of scams, telling them how to spot the warning signs and where support can be accessed if a child tells them something worrying.
Impact on young people
According to the latest statistics, one in five 'money muling' incidents in the UK last year involved somebody under the age of 21. Meanwhile, almost one in 25 suspected money mules that the Financial Conduct Authority dealt with in 2025 were under the age of 18.
Gainsborough Primary executive principal Barb Sims said: 'I think it was an excellent lesson. Andrew did really well, and the content was well-pitched, so I think they've taken a lot from it. At the end, where children were able to feed back and say what they remembered from it, they'd all gone away with lots of new information, which is really good.' Also watching the lesson from the front of the classroom was Lord Hanson, the minister for fraud, who is overseeing the rollout of the government's Fraud Strategy after it was published in March. He said: 'What we're trying to do is to give people preparation. The online world is a very good space, but it also potentially has some dangers and therefore, the earlier we get resilient, understanding of the potential difficulties, it's really important for young people to do that.'
