Bitcoin Forum

It's a good thing if your kids decide to venture into BTC and blockchain, but as a parent always make sure you monitor them just to be sure that they are doing what they claimed to be doing online.

Kids nowadays are more into technology for sure but we all know how they can be exposed to the wrong things too, I talked to one yesterday because his father asked me to, his father told me that he knows about web3 very well and he is making money off it, the suspicion came later when his father called and told me that his son lost some BTC on Bybit exchange.

I called for the son and he came, his father isn't there with us and he changed the topic, he claimed that after he sent the BTC to his friends Bybit account, the exchange seized the BTC.

To cut this short, the BTC was stolen, this boy doesn't even know anything about JAVA Script, front end or even how to build a website, he was feeding his father wrong information.

I grabbed his iPhone and noticed that he has been defrauding people online through onlyfans stolen identities, he tried to hide it at first, thinking I don't know much about technology like his old man, later he asked me not to expose him to his father.

This boy and his friend choose to rob people online and he is only 18 years old, he knows BTC by fraud but they are foolish enough not to know that BTC is traceable, since Bybit is on this case already I am expecting an arrest on his friend or even him later, unless Bybit choose not to push this further, maybe because the BTC is just $2000

I wish I couldn't but his father his my uncle, we are related, how will the son even change? This was what came to my mind, I have a son too and I don't want him to be on this same path, I talked to him and I use my story about I ended up with Bitcoin online and also how my father was there to support me before he passed away  and I later told his father not to scold him for lying to him, instead he should start advising him the right way.

What broke my heart was how sad his father was when I told him, he said he trusted the son the most.

At eighteen, the boy is an adult and would take full responsibility for his actions and inactions. Parents indeed need to closely monitor their children's activities online, but at that age, it will be very difficult to watch over that boy. This child simply chose to be a criminal, maybe he was influenced by friends or other agents of socialisation. 

For me, if a child is still under my roof, I would closely monitor their income and expenditure.  If he is spending more than I think he should,  it will be the right time to investigate his sources of income. It is also important to always investigate the source of your children's income. Don't rely on what he or she told you.

Honestly I wouldn't want my kids to be involved with bitcoin because there's too many bad paths that could be followed through this community.

Misleading ads, gambling, drugs... Just a few. Then also there's the unrealistic financial expectations, the false financial narratives... The belief that one can make it without even working... While its true that you can make it with crypto just by investing funny money into a shitcoin and being a little lucky, it's not a right principle to teach.

I want my kids to learn that their labour should be rewarded fairly and that all labour is essential to moving society forward. Even though employers often take advantage of workers too much, we have to understand that if everyone was a "bitcoin trader" nothing would ever happen. So I'm just thinking to keep my kids away from BTC for the longest time possible and maybe let them discover it on their own way later when they have income to invest too.

AT best maybe I could include it in a discussion about savings. Nothing more.

It would have been very easy for the boy's dad to suspect him and monitor his activities online but his father doesn't have the knowledge of what the boy is doing. It becomes very difficult to monitor what your boy at 18 years is doing online. However, he might choose to play good at home but when he is with his friends, he continue with his criminal activities.

You did the right thing OP, to tell his dad so that he can be aware of who his son is and shouldn't be surprised if the police comes looking for him. I feel that bringing up your child in a God fearing way and engage them with church activities might limit them from being influenced by social vices.

I don't expect any parent to suspect their child commit actual crime, especially if their child have no history of doing criminal activity or really bad behavior. Regardless, monitor or asking them some details would be great regardless considering risk they may fall into scam or invest on something without actually knowing the risk.

To OP, i don't know where you and that father lives. But depending on where you live, not reporting someone you know committing crime may cause legal trouble. Have you and him consider taking next action?

In local parlance (streets), they will say he's smart but in the real sense he's a thief. I don't even like the idea of people calling thieves scanners or fraudsters. They should be defined by the easiest nomenclature.

OP, you're right. That's what parents should be doing. It's not enough to just assume your kids are actually doing what they've told you they're doing. Their youthful exuberance may push them to try other adventures besides what they set out to do. Parental responsibility isn't just about feeding and clothing kids, supervision is core too.

You did very well to inform his father so he can monitor him more. It will likely put an end to the son's criminality.

The father should know that trust has nothing to do with what his children does when they are alone, at age 18 the boy is old enough to know what is good and bad even without the father monitoring him but since he has decided to know Bitcoin for the wrong reasons I think  it is left for the father to play his roles by making sure that he doesn't continue doing what he is doing. The amount stolen may not be traced now because it's a small amount but there is every tendency that the boy has been scamming people before now so the father should do everything possible to endure that he checks all the system of the boy just to know how long he has been doing it and never release the system back to him. Kids are exposed to a lot of things at school and parents may not know everything about their kids but when the kids starts getting expensive things that the parents didn't give them money to buy that's a good sign to know that something wrong is happening.

Am I missing something here? How old is the child? Because there is a certain age limit for children who are already proficient in surfing to such an extent. He and his friends started with a risk that they definitely knew, the fraudulent act was clearly no longer a child's age, he was an adult and when Bybit took legal action the child deserved to be imprisoned.

It is natural for a father to trust his child, regardless of his actions out there, because the child always shows a different attitude when in front of his father but when with his friends his true nature will be seen.

You don't need to feel broke or sad, because you have given input and advice. If in the end the child is imprisoned, it is no longer your business. It doesn't matter if his father is your friend, because it is no longer your obligation to interfere in the affairs of other people's children.

To be honest, I am already used to such incidents. Some of my friends and some younger brothers in my area claim that they are earning money through some online work. Although I did not take it seriously at first. But when I saw that they were losing money after a few days and were selling their phones or selling essential things, I got a little suspicious. When I asked them hard and investigated because of my suspicion, I came to know that they were involved in gambling and they had become addicted gamblers. You will be surprised to hear that they were only between the ages of 15-17. Here the only mistake of their parents was to blindly trust their sons and give them money as soon as they asked. Then, I informed their parents and tried to keep an eye on their sons. Although they have not completely recovered yet, but I can feel a little relieved compared to before.

There is even another friend who was involved in trading on the pretext of web design, web development and cyber security work and lost a lot of money. Although it is not possible to tell this story in short. Since my friend is an adult, as soon as he is given the right advice, he returns to normal life. Sometimes it is not possible for parents to keep an eye on their sons. So the responsibility for this is not only the parents, but also our own and our society.

This is just a simple story about someone reaching for easy money without thinking too much. For me, the real problem here is not that this young man did it, but that he clearly hasn't been taught that such things are wrong and that one shouldn't do anything bad in life that one wouldn't want someone to do to him or someone in his family one day.

Maybe this is a mistake he will learn from, because as a young person he has a lot of time to correct it all.

It is overwhelming to imagine how young people under parental care will keep indulging on illegal activities even when their guidance are at the best approach of giving them good morales.
I feel the disappointment after the boy took the dad on the unexpected and lost his trusts for him. However, I know bad companies corrupts good manners which I believe the young boy was influenced by his co. Scamming friend's.
I think since the boy have got such technical ideal of frauding people online using bitcoin as a source of target or receiving illegal payments, You Op can bring him closer and teach him how to usefully make good of that potential knowledge to explore in the real world crypto and blockchains.
Take him from any point you know can help him so he can deviate from his friends and the illegal activities.

You call an eighteen-year-old boy a boy? In my country, these guys are already going to serve in the army. Where is childhood here? These are adults and already sexually mature people who must understand that upon reaching adulthood, a person bears full responsibility for each of their actions. The participation of a father or mother is not required at all. As for parental concern for the future, it should begin at birth and end when the boy becomes an adult. It is necessary to raise him so that he understands what is allowed and what is not, and what happens if a person breaks the law. Coddling adult children means losing yourself in their eyes, losing their respect, and contributing to the fact that you will solve every problem for your child until he gets old. If you love your children, let them become adults, solving their problems themselves.

What a story. Something that you think in your widest dream would never happen especially in this type of father son relationship but it is indeed happening. I want to tell you that you did the right thing by telling the father about his activities. If you had not done that the father may hear about it on the news which will leave him very devastated. The next step for the father is to speak to his son in a way that shows empathy and love. The big is lost and can be redirected bath on the right path.

That’s really tough to hear. Kids today have so much tech around them, but without the right guidance, it’s easy to get lost. You handled it well by trying to steer him the right way. Hopefully, this wakes him up and helps the family heal.

Well I don't want them to get involve to if I'm not the one teach them about Bitcoin.

But If I'm the one guiding them and listening to what I'm discussing then execute well those good things need to do as well avoid those temptation which can cause them losses then I'm fine with these set up.

Its just they need proper guidance and awareness about risk so that they know what are those things they need to avoid. Especially those scams around since there are so many of it and don't want them to fall on those schemes.

We just need to look after them so that we know what activities they are joining on.

It depends on what age your kid is already. I would not need to be checking my children's internet activities if they are well above the age of 21. They should have independence and luxury of privacy at that time.
His father must be so disappointed. There is nothing wrong with a kid trying out some side hustle in fact it might even be a good thing but doing something illegal would be wrong. This could have ruined his future forever if it went on for longer.

Exactly what I thought.
A Cex seizing someone's asset, when they have important information shows that the person must have done something that might have warrant such action, and might even place the person on their radar. And maybe one of the victim might have made the report in this case. It is definitely a tough decision to make at this point considering the fact that OP is related to them, and the father won't want his son to be in any sort of trouble. But like you said, there might be some legal troubles, especially if Bybit decides to handle the case seriously.

In this case maybe the child is no longer in the category of a teenager because a child who is 18 years old is mature enough to be responsible for any crime they commit. This child has good abilities if developed in the right way because after all robbing online in a certain way cannot be done without skill. Parents sometimes do not control their children well so that cases like this can happen and children who have the best abilities like this should be able to develop much more when doing something that is beneficial.

This is an important lesson for anyone who has children because they must be given an understanding of crime and it is not good to do. When the approach is done well, I am sure that the child will eventually change his life for the better and this is where the role of parents is needed in educating children to be someone who is responsible for their lives.

If my kid is still too young, I wouldn’t teach them about Bitcoin yet as they likely won’t be interested anyway. And honestly, it’s too risky for them to learn about it early on, especially once they start earning. That could easily lead to gambling behavior, which isn’t far off when you're dealing with volatile assets.

IMO, there’s a right time for everything. Since Bitcoin is a high-risk investment or asset, it shouldn't be introduced at a very young age. Let kids be kids first... when they grow up and mature, that’s when they’ll be better equipped to understand and handle things like Bitcoin responsibly.

Instead of closely monitoring, supervising and making them feel deprived of their freedom, I think educating and talking to them regularly can be more effective.
If a child grows up and makes mistakes, it is mainly the parents' fault, not theirs. As parents, we can't just say we are proud and believe in our children, but we never take the time to teach or care for them.


But do it quietly and silently because everyone needs privacy. Although we as parents need to be responsible for our children, they also need to receive special respect from their parents.

Question I Will ask is at a young age would you tell your child about how local fiat currency is and how to save them and how the savings can be used later if they want to? If yes that’s the same way you can educate your child about bitcoin, simply make them understand it is fiat currency stored digitally. The mistake parents makes is telling their children how it brings profit, they introduce them to trading and even futures which is the only bad thing I see there, but teaching your child the right fundamentals about bitcoin and even the blockchain entirely will be good one rather than gatekeeping, the only time it should be gate-keep is when the child is below 14 years or so.

For the children in the this thread, there is nothing any parent can do most especially an illiterate person to bitcoin and cryptocurrency, it is norm that any trending topic is used for scams my people of such age, the proper thing is to have oriented that they can still use such skills to earn legitimate income

Honestly, kids need proper monitoring, and it would be a very good thing if they were monitored properly. Children nowadays are claiming smartness, but what some kids may be doing online with their smartphones is different from what they tell their parents. They even cover it up with crypto, especially if they manage to make money in wrong ways.

I also knew of a 15 or 16 year old boy. What happened is that his dad seized his smartphone because he wasn’t serious about his studies anymore as africa parent.He believed the phone was the cause of the distraction because the boy was always online and never had time to study. So, immediately after his dad seized the phone, the boy wanted it back and bought another new phone worth over $500. His dad was surprised and asked him where he got the money to buy the phone. The boy told him he was into crypto mining. After they paid him, he used the money to purchase Bitcoin. Now that the Bitcoin has pumped, his money has also increased.So, his father seized the phone again, and after gaining access to it, he discovered that the boy was involved in an online dating scam.

I get your point, but I do not think the boy's exposure to Bitcoin at an early age was the problem. In fact, he did not learn about Bitcoin because if he did, he'd know that Bitcoin transaction is traceable and would have done better to cover his tracks. What he learned was scamming. Right from the moment a child is born, the parent begins to teach the child morals and good values, letting him know what's right and wrong. I'm not saying the parent failed in this case, but it could be that they weren't paying closer attention to the company he was keeping or what he was doing.

At 18 years, he's no more a child; he's already an adult and should be in the university if he's brilliant. I'm glad they finally got to know how he makes his money. He's still young and can retrace his steps or will have to face the consequences in the future.

Well, he's a criminal in the first place, if Bitcoin wasn't exist, I'm sure he would do something similar and use other payment option.

If the child are good people, raised well or have no intention to become criminal, I'm sure they won't do this.

I would worry if I see kids mention "crypto" over "Bitcoin", if they mention crypto, pretty sure they're gamble on meme or hype coins. They might be not a criminal, but they have to learn many thing instead of gamble their money.

Although the amount isn't huge but it's still a crime and they should be exposed to their parents before things get out of hand because we might end up having them turn into big time scammers. They might have plans to go big as the small scam they tried worked out for them well. Scammers are greedy and they'll want to keep getting bigger money therefore they won't stop at small crimes. Many youthful individuals are doing illegal activities on the internet but they'll disguise as traders either in cryptocurrency or forex, they can claim to be into web3 or websites development but they aren't doing any of those things but scammers, we shouldn't encourage them when caught but punished.

This is another way to know what your children are doing if they are under your roof, if they are not working you know the amount you give to them and and what they can afford to buy with it if they are spending above the amount you give to them then you should be able to observe then investigate what they do to get the money they spend. Parents should stop believing everything they hear from their children until they investigate and find out things for themselves.

I think that first children need to be made well aware of the bad sides and negative aspects of online, then they need to be introduced to the important things of economy and earning money and security. I think that technology is a very sensitive thing. Just as life will be easy and enjoyable if you take it well, similarly if you get addicted to its bad sides and negative aspects, your whole life will be destroyed.

The human conscience knows when it is on the right path as well as when it is on the wrong path and as such, I must confirm that the 18 year old boy in this post is well aware of the crime he has been committing and somehow knows he and his friend may be arrested and tried  if the case is investigated further by Bybit, because they are adults and should know better than to defraud people instead of focusing on their studies and the way forward to make legit money.

The father also has more responsibility now that he has caught his son doing the unthinkable and it must be done in such a way that he encourages the son to pursue heathier goals while iterating him of the repercussions of defrauding people on a regulated platform like Bybit. Speak of KYC requirements and how it has evolved over the years to scrutinize every customer on their income sources. That's how the world works currently and the boy would be very lucky to go free untethered.

How would his father advise him the right thing when he wasn’t even honest to him? An 18-year old son is already mature enough to think what’s right from wrong. So if he’s into defrauding people, that’s actually his choice, and I don’t think he’s not aware of the future consequences, he knows for sure but he just want instant money coming from an effortless task.

However, this may also serve a lesson that not all that makes profits online are doing it legally, sometimes if what you’ve seen is just too good to be true, then it’s a scam. Bitcoin is good and is legal, but sometimes it is linked into illegal activities indirectly.

Parents needs to be watchful of their teenage children as that is the critical stage of raising a child, they learn fast at that age and get distracted too. Just imagine if the young man had genuinely put his effort into learning tech properly, he would have gone far with his skills. If you're child is talking about bitcoin and he/she seems to know more about it, it's good to look at what exactly they are doing that involves bitcoin, just just running along with what you've been told, else your teenage child will be directly under your roof and will be defrauding people online.

Let's take it this way. Had it been, this didn't come up, that the boy lost some BTC on Bybit exchange. I guess the boy's father wouldn't have known about all these, that his boy is into fraud. What he will only hold at hand is that his boy knows web3 very well and he's earning from it.

This is heartbreaking, no matter how we see it. The father of the boy shouldn't just take this lightly, because his son is still at a young age, and he needs to be treated calmly when correcting them. That shouldn't be done because this is the exact way kids grow up to be something else in society, where their fathers have less control over them.

I would say, the father should scold his son very well by letting him know the gravity of what he has done. So that next time he would think twice before taking any fraudulent action.

To some extent parents are to be blame entire morespecially in the scenario the op just explained. Some times children may decide to toll the wrong path, may be as a result of peer groups influence. The only way most of this teenage will stay clear in indulging in cyber crime is through awareness because I believe most of them don't really know the consequences of what they are doing. What they is a good orientation, they should be made to understand the consequences of cyber crime. Most parents don't really know much about tech and as such they won't be able to monitor the activities of there children online

There's no bad thing in bitcoin, if we encourage or show our kids how to use bitcoin in good way, I dont think that they will use bitcoin wrongly, do you know that the purpose bitcoin is being created is not to be use the way people are using bitcoin today, let me say that what people are thinking now towards bitcoin and their kids knowing bitcoin was the way people taught of bitcoin from the time bitcoin was created in 2009, for me bitcoin is a good currency and if your children wants to go into bitcoin, give them support and teach them the good path on how to use bitcoin, if other people are using bitcoin as scam or in a bad way, that doesn't mean that your children will use it in a bad way

Parents can only handle the child very well when they are still growing up, not when the kids have already grown to adults that can handle things by themselves. While they are still kids that's when parents should give their children the right discipline so that as they grow they will not easily be misled by their friends or think of doing illegal things. If a child is well raised, they can not go against their principle because they were already instructed by their parents not to do it, so in a case like this it's the parents that should be blam while the child take up the penalty of their actions.

Believe it or not, some kids are actually born being good and honest to the people around. Their parents have not taught them to be like that, but they are innate good from the start. Just like some kids no matter how their parents molded them to be good and honest to everyone, at the end of the day, they still follow their bad attitude.

This is quite a realization that no matter how you talk to your kids to do this and do that, they will always have their own ways and attitude. Bitcoin is brought from a good technology, it’s just that some are using in their own negative ways, and that’s the bad thing about it.

kids will always be like this let us not forget i think that their ways just evolved but kids will always keep secrets from their parents this is not crypto's fault
it is surprising how much kids know these days to the point that they are the ones leading the scam industry lol i think this is proof that the child is smart though just needs to be redirected

So Bybit knew that the kid is scamming people and blacklisted the address and seized the funds when a TX came from an address and also you are saying Bybit can make the kid to face legal charges?

Which can't be true, because exchange blacklist an address when the government agency ask them to do as part of investigation and they contacted all the exchange to block if there's a deposit that's unlikely to happen for $2000 in my opinion. And Bybit got no say in it, if government ask for KYC details to help identifying the scammer then they should provide it.

It's a good story but things are not adding up. :D

With how vast the online pursuits and activities these days, one can actually deceive his own father who is not knowledgeable on the internet and technology, and claim that he is working on the most popular cryptocurrency which is bitcoin, wherein in reality he is actually dealing fraudulence in the internet and target those ignorant people.

So this is right, don’t assume that your child is actually following the right path towards bitcoin. As much as possible, learn also the modern technology so that you won’t wake up one day that your son is already in jail paying all his illegal activities.

It depends on their surroundings or environmental influences, which might lead them to make poor decisions, such as scamming.  
An old saying goes, "Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are, because birds of the same feather flock together."  So it starts with the people around them, or perhaps their friends.

As parents, we should always guide our kids, especially regarding their online activities.
We must know the people around them, as minors often want to explore new technologies like Bitcoin.
Therefore, as a parent, it’s important to recognize that “goodness” or “badness” isn’t absolute or fixed.

This is sad story and it is clear warning that even when parents think their kids are doing well with technology dangers can be hidden online so active monitoring and open talks with kids are really important. Son lies stealing people identities from OnlyFans to commit fraud and losing money on Bybit are very worrying proving that knowing little about technology without good morals can lead to big problems even criminal behavior. Since Bitcoin is traceable and Bybit is involved son and his friend could face legal trouble and it is completely normal for you to worry about his future and want to protect your own son. Advising your uncle to guide his son gently but firmly is smart as this tough situation needs strong support to help young man change his ways

That's why I try not to introduce Bitcoin to my child from an early age. I'm not saying I don't believe in Bitcoin. But as you said, sometimes there are many bad things in the crypto community such as gambling or fraud with promises of returns of up to thousands of percent. I don't want my child to become a gambler because honestly it's not a wise life choice. And I will teach my child about investment and patience in saving. Cryptocurrency has made some people addicted to the lure of getting rich instantly. That's what makes some people try gambling by investing in new projects or meme coins. I don't want my child to learn on the wrong steps. I will try to make my child get life lessons such as investment and mindset from me, not from his environment or other people. Sometimes parents who don't understand their child's world will make them do bad things that we don't know about.

Proper education is the way.

If you noticed there are certain platform out there where even little kid just rugging people while online namely through shitcoins.

It's really important to teach them what to do and what not to do and that everything has consequence and frauding people could get them to jail. Otherwise they might go in the wrong direction just like the story you told.

Look, Bitcoin has nothing to do with the case. It could be other crypto. You are presenting the case as here as if Bitcoin is bad. Bitcoin isn't bad. Since he is 18 years old already, I would call him a young guy. It is he and his friends who are bad in this case. They decided to scam people, and they used Bitcoin to do the transaction. The scammer won't stop if there is no Bitcoin.

They could use other crypto, such as Monero, TRX, or even any cryptocurrency. As a parent, it is important to know what your kids do. If you know your kids are doing something bad, you should act accordingly.

Interesting story, but BTC has little to do with it. This guy's son would've scammed people by wanting them to send him USDT or any other altcoin. The cryptocurrency, that was being used as a payment for the fraud/scam doesn't matter. What matters is that many young people start learning how to scam online, instead of getting a normal 9-to-5 job. Discord is full of such scamming and ewhoring servers. There are some Telegram groups about scamming as well. Teenagers can be very evil and manipulative. The good part of the story is that I can assume that this boy will get punishment for his actions and this will teach him a lesson.

 Everything that has its pros also has its cons. We all mean well for our children and with the fact that the knowledge about Bitcoin and the Blockchain is changing lives, most people would want that not just them but their families know a thing or two about it but what they can't avoid is the paths some of these members choose to take.
See for instance, the introduction of phones which was basically for communication and, it then evolved into smartphones where you can browse the internet and whatnot but you'd find that people also use it for wrong things too.
 Your nephew may have been convinced by his friend that defrauding people is harmless after all, it's just posting and sharing of videos and you can make cool cash off of it. You know, making quick money via these means seems more interesting than learning how to use it more legitimately.
 It's good that he got caught now though, at least this would teach him a lesson and even though he might serve time being that he's an adult now, he would be able to learn that these sorts of vices don't come without consequences.

I also see this as having nothing to do with bitcoin or crypto, but with education. He became a criminal and the people responsible for this are his parents for not educating and taking care of their children properly. Or even he is 18 years old, he is aware enough and must take responsibility for what he causes.

Fraud, being a bad person is the result of lack of education, ignorance and the criminals themselves should be punished, nothing to do with the tools they use. Bitcoin, fiat money, phones or the internet are just tools created to serve us, and whether we use them for good or evil is up to us.

I don't understand why you put that title on the subject field. It's still good to talk a kid about Bitcoin because they should be updated in finances and should know how the world works, how the economy works, how the money works and so on. If someone has evil intends, they'll do it with every knowledge that they posses. This kid wasn't a very good kid, he wanted to earn an easy money and he discovered that Bitcoin is anonymous, which in reality is not but it still has that reputation online. So, without further knowledge, he did what he did. I'd say that it's good he got into this trouble and he didn't know how to hide traces because this trouble can become a very good lesson for him and I hope that's how it will end up (I mean in a good way, I hope he won't do something bad in the future).

Having a good knowldge of Bitcoin or Blockchain does not mean that he is doing a good job. Of course, more attention should be paid to children who are not yet adults. There are many parents who just believe them. They do not have any responsibility for what they are doing, which is why it is seen that at some point those children go out of control. Every parent should have proper knowledge about what their child is doing, otherwise they will have to accept such a situation. There are many children who commit major crimes and then it is revealed but it is too late at that time. So it is necessary to gain awareness about them in advance so that they can come back before they commit crimes.

Children are increasingly becoming smart so it is wrong to assume anything and nit act on any information we hear from them. The task of patenting requires that we pay attention to anything and everything we hear from our children because that could be a clue to something sinister they are entangled on which we can help them if we find out early.

Peer influence is another factor that is turning children into what they never planned to be. The moment a child mentioned Bitcoin and you are sure it's not coming from you,  it becomes necessary to pause and find out what is going on with them and what they know about Bitcoin. It is even safer to educate our children about the good use of Bitcoin before they end up going about it the wrong way like this case.

You are right Bitcoin is not bad on its own it is just tool like hammer that can be used for good or bad things. If Bitcoin was not around scammers would simply use other digital currencies or old fashioned methods. Real issue is people who choose to scam others not technology they use.

It is important for these individuals to be held responsible for their actions. Also parents play crucial role in knowing what their kids are doing online and teaching them about right and wrong to prevent such problems. We should focus on crime and criminals not blame technology.

Topic story in short - an adult was scamming people online and stole BTC. Is this story even about kids being familiar with BTC or cryptocurrency? Similarly we could say «I feel so disappointed about my kid knowing about money, when this kid turns to be +30 yo and robbing banks». In this topic, BTC is only an object that was stolen. It could be everything, fiat money, paintings, cars, anything. That «kid» lied to his parents and was involved in criminal. End of story. I can give even worse example of «kids talk about BTC». They might be using crypto to buy drugs online...

Nevertheless. I wish my child or any other child know only about bright side of cryptocurrency. I will never wish for my child to get involved into something illegal.

It is sad story but I think that already happened to some people out there. But I think his father don't know what his kid did with his friends and never asked about it. While his father trusted the son the most, that make him difficult to accept the reality of what his son doing.

We can learn from that story to always communicate to our kids and asking what they do. We also need to explain to our kids that they don't have to lie about what they do but it is better to tell the truth. Who knows we as their parents can help them make its easier with our way. Sometimes, parents can know much things that their kids because parents will have more experienced and knowledge. So in this matter, communicating will be the key to avoid that.

I think it is a very good idea for children to talk about Bitcoin or any other platform. Because if a person starts learning anything from a young age, he will become very good at that subject. But children have very little ability to understand good and bad, if someone gives them an idea about something bad, then children will look towards it. For this, his parents should be aware of what their child is doing. Children are like clay, just like clay will do as you want it to do, children will look towards what you teach them or what they see.

Let me give you a real example, there was a boy in our area who was not very old, he must have been 15 to 16 years old. That boy learned about trading by watching videos online and later moved towards trading. He told his father that father, I will work online, give me some money. He once took some money from his father and embezzled it for a few days, after that the boy asked his father for money again, the boy's father did not give him money and listened to him carefully what job he was learning. After listening, his father went to a person and asked my son, is this online work good or bad, the person told him that your son is addicted to gambling, he is trading everywhere, almost everyone loses money. Later, the boy's father heard everything and disciplined his son and stopped him from doing this work. Parents should be aware whether their son is going in the wrong direction or the right direction.

For sure, there's no much to doubt here. That boy is simply acting under the influence of his fellow friends and of course under the guidance of a superior among them. It's questionable to see a boy of that age too clever to indulge in that act and even attempt to deceive his dad on what he does for a living. Sincerely speaking, some parents are too careless to neglect the financial aspects of their wards. They don't care to know the legitimacy of their hustling as long as they are giving them money to cater for themselves.

It's unfortunate the young boy get to know about Bitcoin in the wrong way and also making use of it wrongly. Their types are the reason why some people have a negative perspection on Bitcoin and assume everyone who's into bitcoin is a criminal.

It's beyond my power, there is nothing I can do about thing right now until if Bybit actually make a move, the exchange account is been blocked now so I believe they might not do anything.

What advice do you think is better if all this happened to your relative instead? I will like to know, because the amount isn't even worth the hassle, just my own thought and if eventually they decide to make a move he will face the consequences.

After all the talking and advising I don't see any signs of remorseful or regrets, I believe he doesn't regret his actions so I have made up my mind to not do anything if eventually he get arrested.

Online scams and scams have been around for decades before bitcoin came into existence, and it is human behavior. It has nothing to do with bitcoin or any financial instrument, they are all innocent because they are just inanimate instruments. It's confusing how OP would link bitcoin into this story and make the reader feel like bitcoin is something bad for kids.

Take the time to communicate, educate and grow with your children, don't just throw a bunch of money at them and think that's the best thing parents can do. That's exactly what I'm doing with my kids.

When looking at his age I think he is legal enough to be responsible for what he did because in the end being in bitcoin is very good and I appreciate that but the way he did it was wrong where instead of doing it the way it should be he is more likely to lead to being an irresponsible person by committing a crime because this can be a form of crime and the child must realize that.

I think telling his parents is the most possible thing so that in the end he doesn't get trapped further in the crimes that are made because after all once he succeeds in becoming a criminal then in the end it is very difficult to get out of it.

This is also an important lesson of course because being in bitcoin and all forms of sophistication on the web 3 for children is a good thing but of course the way to get benefits is also important so that dirty things are not done just to make us get benefits when it destroys other people by cheating or even stealing because it is clearly not justified.

Your actions are correct OP because regardless of anything even though the child is an adult but still they still have to be under the supervision of parents as a form of responsibility regardless of whether there will be legal affairs or not and when the parents are disappointed it is already a risk because it is a form of consequence of what the child did.

The father believes in his son, but the father does not understand what his son is actually doing. It is important to be close to children and know what our children are doing. Although there will be some things that they may not tell their parents, when we follow what the child likes, we can learn and provide great guidance. At least in making difficult decisions.
The situation must be because of the child's association, not related to technology or Bitcoin ownership. But children who start to see gaps to commit crimes, it is not simple.

That's worrying because chances are that the Bybit won't make a move because of the little money involved, like you said, but if the child shows no remorse, he can continue committing crimes and, in the end, it can be worse.

What a complicated position for you, OP. I hope you the best solution for everyone in the end, whatever it is. Without knowing more details I do not dare to give an opinion beyond what has been already said.

children or young adult do not just jump from nowhere into becoming criminal. they go stage by stage from little criminal initiative and when they go uncaught they device other means they can use in stealing in the cyber space or even in the digital space. if you train your child well, even at 20, they will never depart from what you have thought them to commit theft or cybercrime in the society. a child that at 18 is already scamming people is most time a product of a failed parent who did not pay close attention to her child till external influence has made that child an hardened individual. the society works in this simple way, train your child well and you have saved yourself a lot but fail to train your child and the society will help you do so because either way, they must learn from a source.

I agree with you let kids be kids, allow them enjoy there childhood don't give them or put the responsibility of an adult in them, however you can only teach your kids little about Bitcoin the level that there brain can carry, if you want to help your kids invest in Bitcoin then open a wallet for them and then start buying Bitcoin little by little for them, and when they grow up you hand it over to them, the only thing that you can do like I said before is for you to teach them only what there brain can carry in Bitcoin, do it stage by stage depending on there age.

Some parent has started teaching there kids what is not meant for them, how will a kid understand the importance of holding Bitcoin, kids are kids and the only thing they should be thinking about is how to succeed in there education and also how to enjoy there childhood, like they say there's time for everything, when the time come for them to get dipping involve in Bitcoin it will happen.
For now let's allow kids to be kids and enjoy there childhood.

Life gets difficult at some point of time but we have face the situation and that's how we grow strong.
Children these days often end up misusing their parents' trust but we as parents should give them another chance.
We should make them learn their lesson and guide them through the right path.

In this case, his father should guide him properly and teach him how money is earned the hard way.
Scamming other people's hard earned money won't do him any good and his father should make him learn this thing.

There is nothing surprising in this story in the relationship between parents and children. Parents very often don't even suspect what their children are doing and may not know anything about their hobbies. There is only one solution - to keep your children's hobbies under control (until they reach independent adulthood) and instill the right skills for survival in this world (moral and ethical standards). And also that bitcoin is not completely anonymous (and most cryptocurrencies) and that it is completely unsuitable for their misdemeanors. :)

After reading this story, BTC-haters will probably accuse bitcoin of being used for criminal purposes once again. In the story told above, the crime was committed by a person (young), not bitcoin. Bitcoin only unwittingly became an instrument of the crime.

His kid has free will. If the parents were great the kid may still decide to be a thug.

Parents can do all the correct things and the kid can turn dark.

Parents could be terrible and the kid can turn out okay.


That said most often bad teaching works to make a bad person.

And good teaching most often makes a good person.

I know plenty of well taught kids that came out okay.
Many more come out okay then really bad if the better values of life were pushed over the worse values.


Myself I had a less than ideal upbringing took me years to get set on the correct paths in life. I was born in 1957

I would say 1990 was when I pretty much had sorted the poor examples out and became more of my own person

I was 33 at the time.

I would be fine with the way I have lived my life from 33 to 68 and from 13 to 29 not so happy with those years.

From 30 to 33 was when I really staring to turn myself around.

note I do not count from 1 to 12 as I was far too young.

From the story, it's very obvious that the fathers very ignorant about Cryptocurrency or modern tech else as a father he should've been able to monitor what his son was doing and how he makes money online, imagine if bybit didn't restrict his account which required his father to seek your attention, he would've still been deceived till this point, ignorance is really a disease.
 You're right, haters would always look for a way to criticism the use of Bitcoin or make it seem like it's mostly use and creation was to support fraudulent activities but that's not true, the criminal is an adult and should be held accountable for his crime and not Bitcoin.

That’s a really heartfelt story, and honestly it highlights how important it is for parents to stay close to their kids, especially now with so much happening online. Sometimes kids get caught up in the wrong things without fully understanding the consequences, not because they’re bad, but just because they’re curious or easily influenced.

I completely agree that instead of just scolding, it’s better to guide them patiently and show them how hard money is earned. If they learn early that scamming or shortcuts end up hurting people (and themselves in the long run), they’re less likely to stray. At the end of the day, kids need someone to show them the right path, not just punish them for taking a wrong turn.

It's very important to keep an eye on kids as they grow because if they are on the wrong path then it will be impossible to correct them once they grow up. If you find your son doing some prohibited thing then it's our duty as parent to immediately stop him from doing that. Tech era has increased responsibilities of parents because now kids have easy access to things which were not possible before like online gambling, porn sites etc. If your son is doing something with Bitcoin then just be part of it and make sure he is doing everything legal.

Yep, it's very sad to see good parent who teach good thing and their kid has a bad attitude, people will blame the parent instead of the kid. Since in this thread we're talking about one subject, we can't exactly know if his parent has a good parental or not.

In most cases, many kids end up fatherless because their fathers are absent, they only enjoy the money. Kids needs father figure, but it's kinda hard because the reason why fathers are busy is to make money.

It was good and wise of you to tell his dad about his son's activities, else you would've been the bad person if the son was finally picked up by the authorities. Hiding it from his dad would've made you an accomplice of his fraudulent act on the long run.

The boy would go on with his activities if he is not closely monitored henceforth, he would only get very much crafty in hiding his activities. OP I think your job on the boy is not finished yet, you should continue to mentor and monitor the boy. The father would end up being deceived by the boy again since his dad is not tech savvy, so the work still rests on your shoulders.

They are intelligent enough to learn quickly but are at the same time young to make dreadful decisions without taking the future into consideration. I believe that you did the best thing to not only expose him but attempt to counsel him. Such instances do not always require punishment but someone to actually talk some sense to them. It is also hard on the father since the given type of trust once lost is difficult to restore. Hopefully, this serves as a wake up call to the boy and not the beginning of a worse course.

Bitcoin is a tool, like a knife. You can use it to carve sculptures, cut bread, or threaten people while you rob them. Bitcoin can be used as bait to lure unsuspecting people into sending you their money.

Kids can be evil, greedy, it all depends on how they were raised. I feel like there was a lot of neglect on his father's side, which is why he's reaping the fruit now, being scammed by his own son.

This story above is not just about Bitcoin. That child didn't go into scam because he learnt about Bitcoin. A disciplined child who is privileged to learn about Bitcoin from a young age would rather be eager to save in Bitcoin instead of saving in fiat. This is a case of parents who have failed to monitor the activities of their child, which has led him to join a gang of fraudsters. Bitcoin does not encourage anyone to scam people; only those who are already evil-minded use Bitcoin to achieve their aims.

I will teach my children about Bitcoin and will follow up to make sure they are learning the right way. Just as I would with non-crypto investments, I will invest on their behalf and wait until they are older or until I am sure they can handle everything by themselves, then I will hand over control of the investment to them. I won’t be a dumb parent.

                                                                                                                                                                           
Like from the title of the thread and the beginning of the story, you can't really monitor someone or know about what they have with Bitcoin because this is personal. Whatever anyone tells you about their engagement with Bitcoin is what you will believe. It is easy to monitor children when it comes to a source of income that is physical, but if it is something online, it is not easy to know everything in detail because everything online is designed to be private, which people must keep to themselves. As a parent, you can't even monitor the crypto journey of your children because this is personal, and it is their responsibility to be in charge. Unless they want you to be involved, then they can make room for it.

We only read the story and do not really know what really happened. The father or parents can be blamed if it is due to bad parenting, but the influence of the environment and other factors can also be triggers for changes in the child's behavior. The influence of the environment is really bad for children, especially if they live among their peers who have bad behavior. Stealing, cheating or things that harm others do not just happen spontaneously, but this happens in a structured way until the opportunity comes.

There are many similar stories but not with bitcoin, this has happened and I have heard quite often. A younger sibling steals his older sibling's money, a child steals his father's money, an older sibling steals his younger sibling's valuables and several other similar things, even the age of these children is much younger than the child involved in stealing his father's bitcoin.

There's this one idea that someone smart once said "don't trust, verify". I guess it would be wise to apply this in more aspects of life.

Generally I think it is very low likelihood that a kid will find Bitcoin for the right reasons. To understand what is wrong with money, what is wrong with the financial system and how it is tricking normal people. Very few adults are interested in these topics, kids even fewer. Their phones and all the internet is designed to make them addicted and stupid. They know how to use apps and things but they don't really know anything about it.

I will agree but what about those who are a little grown already? They are still your children even if they are teenagers or young adults already. Even if your children don’t feel the responsibility of earning money, they still might want to earn money to pay for their own expenses.

I was actually expecting the kid in the story to be younger, maybe like 15 or something, but if the kid is 18, he isn't basically a kid anymore, and we could call him an adult by sense that it's legal age in most countries for people to become eligible to have national identity cards or licenses, etc. However, that's not what we should be talking about here. People with limited knowledge about technology themselves will mostly become victims of such things, where their children will lie to them and hide things from them willingly, because they know their parents or guardians won't be able to find out. The boy was probably unlucky that your uncle asked you to do that; otherwise, he would always think that the son is doing something great, and that's why earning so much money until the day when the police would knock on the door.

So, regardless of this being irrelevant, I think having knowledge and understanding of things that this generation usually gets involved in can help you become a better parent, or at least be better at having an eye on your children's activities.

It has nothing to do if someone knows javascript, or any other programming languages just to know how to use a wallet, access to an exchange and own a Bitcoin.

This is no longer a kid. If this guy is doing frauds and scamming people, just give him an advise that he should be prepared for any consequence that might retaliate to him at the right time.

IMHO, there is nothing wrong if a kid wants to know something about Bitcoin and blockchain. Guidance is still a must but when someone who's grown up, they're already on their own moves and actions but still need to be guided.

Maybe the father couldn't monitor this young son because he had little or no skills in technology or cryptocurrency. So the child could easily deceive him that he was learning a skill, meanwhile he was engaging in bad activities online.

Parents cannot force children to behave well, especially if they are mature; they can only counsel or advise them to take positive steps in life. Children are easily deceived by their peers, that is why parents should also observe the kind of friends they hang out with.

If a man is already 18 years old - they are considered adults and this has automatically made both parents give him the freedom to be responsible for himself. If during their growth they are educated well - then their adulthood can also be good, but if not then something bad can easily influence them. Free association and various other prohibited activities can encourage young people to act out of control and possibly against the law - but the role of parents here is only to remind, not to be responsible anymore.

The question to me here is what resulted to your uncle's son to do that. Are they financially struggling or is it just they do it for fun since they can't be arrested easily from what they've done. The friend of your uncle's son maybe also part of the problem, maybe he is the one that influenced him to commit fraud at that young age.

Now with our digital age, it's very easy for young people to have sccess with smartphones. Even my cousines who are just 5 years old know how to use one so we should really watch them what they are surfing through the internet since those stage, they are very gullible and innocent on many things.

Being lied to by the closest people is the hardest thing, you least expect it, but it happens and only those who have been through it can believe it. I will say that it can be fixed, despite the fact that this guy asked not to tell his father about it, in fact, this is the only way to fix it, because if he gets away with it now, he will continue to do something similar in the future. And since his father is an authority for him, then let it be awkward and painful, but at least he will have a chance to learn this lesson. It is important to distinguish from youth what is bad and what is good, fraud is a slippery slope, over time you will want more money and the crimes will become larger, so it is better to stop it now, when everything is just beginning for his son.

I think that when children hit an age 13-15 and become teenagers, parents not totally stop monitoring their activities, but do that very lightly. Children build some trust or show that they are smart or at least use their mind before doing something, so parents partly let go parenting and let children learn and experience world themselves. While parents at work, teenagers have that 8h minimum time gap to do everything they want. The right thing to do for that parent was probably to monitor his childs friends and people who surround him. Even if his child was behaving well all the time, his friends might force or "ask for help", and get involved into troubles.

I understand your point , tbh know one would want their kids to follow such part of been expose to the negative things online , or misleading ads just as you mentioned. But the thing that is inevitable especially in this digital era you may think you are monitoring your kids enough but there’s still some stuff in the dark. And their environment matters a lot , sometimes the younger once tend to blend with the environment easily , such environments can be where you reside or school too . That kid that they the op mentioned did not just start it on his own you can that with friends there’s high chances he got influenced by his peers.

The best thing to do as a guidance is to guide them, tell them about all this stuff the danger in it so that they will no the danger , a kid can see fire and be attracted to it thinking is something that won’t harm them till they get burnt and they won’t near such again . So if they are also expose to the danger in it they will stay guided , you play your part as their guidance.

Is not about to teach them about bitcoin , you can choose to teach them the basic on how to make transactions with it and to keep their wallet safe because if you don’t put them through , they are going to find their way to it one way  or the other , so is better they learn it from a better source that will prioritize their well being when doing so .

I doubt Bybit will take further action, unless they receive official request from one of government agency.


At this point, the only non-negative advice i could give is to consider getting legal consultation from expert (e.g. lawyer).


If he got arrested, i fear there's risk he may try to drag everyone who knows about his crime by stating they never report him.

I'm not good about law but will his relatives also be criminally liable if he tells that reason? Will they also be considred as conspirator in the illegal activity.

As much as I want Bybit to pursue charges so his uncle's son learn his lesson, I also don't think Bybit will make an action about what he's done.  If he goes astray, it's possible he does worse and face serious crimes in the future. Let's just hope someone will watch and guide him properly so he won't repeat what he did.

Until the children have grown up to become adult, they still need our guidance. We have to keep telling them how to navigate life until they're 18 that's what I think. We can reduce in the guidance but not to stop. Unless it's the kids using Bitcoin as cover up for their crimes but when anyone talks about Bitcoin, it should be investing or trading and not anything bad because that isn't Bitcoin. Bitcoin is good and has nothing that you can say is bad when investing in Bitcoin. Some scammers have found ways to scam people by asking for payments to be made in Bitcoin. This isn't investing in Bitcoin either hence children are getting cleaver with their tricks but we have to develop new ways of dealing with this problem coming up.

We should not force our kids to go into bitcoin, but we should teach them the foundations of bitcoin so that anyone that have passion on bitcoin will join the business without anyone forcing him or her to join the business of bitcoin, for me I believe that bitcoin investment is directly meant for people who have the heart to take risk, but if you have the heart to take risks but if you have the heart to take a risk and also bear a loss in bitcoin investment, I don't think that person is qualify to invest on bitcoin, children are exposed into something but as a parents you will not make decisions for them

A little forcing is not a problem so that children tend to be more active in learning to understand investment but a more subtle way is needed so that they can be more interested in learning to understand investment. Now what we need to pay attention to is age because children who are still studying should not be taught how to make money because it is not their responsibility yet. But if the child has entered adolescence then it is appropriate for parents to introduce investment or business to them.

After being introduced, children can make decisions whether they are interested in investment or business so that parents can much more easily direct their interests in achieving better financial capabilities. They will also get married eventually and will have a family so they need to be taught how to make money so that their lives are not difficult later.

Better replace forcing with motivation. It a perfect instrument to make someone do something. For kids, forcing = resisting. It will end with you being more pissed of and angry, but the kid will still win :D And don rush on teaching kids investing. They learn better if they can be involved or get any experience.

Why does topic is about a kid, when there is an adult who has committed a crime. Dont blame Bitcoin, crypto, blame parents who did not teach that stealing is bad. What are we even discussing? Let this "kid" have a punishment and that is it. Other get in jail for shoplifting, this "kid" committed same crime but used crypto as an instrument. What do we expect? Give him discount that his is "a kid", young and stupid? He had access to all libraries, could have read before what is allowed and what is not, before committing a crime.

It is important for parents to expose their kids on the awareness of it understanding the concept education, learning about it's implications as well.
Parents must expose or notify the financial risks and potential financial losses, security weeks protecting digital assets from scammers of fraud different should explain the rules and regulation that guides each.
Teach responsible behavior and digital view of it
And each vital information.

If you know your kid well, you will never doubt whatever he said to you. If you know he’s a honest kid, then there’s no reason to doubt him. However, if you think you are hearing from your kid things that are too good to be true about bitcoin, maybe that’s the right time to check the current activities of your child as he might be doing illegal things that will put him in danger later on.

The problem that always happens now is sometimes when talking about technology, children are much more knowledgeable about it and at least this phenomenon occurs where I live because although not all of them are like that, there are quite a lot of parents who are still clueless compared to their children who are already quite smart even though the implications are not only for bitcoin because this covers technology globally. For bitcoin, it's actually not too different where my neighbor has a teenage son and he has become an investor in bitcoin but his parents don't understand what the child is doing.

Although parental monitoring is important, in some moments it can still be a little difficult so that in the end this can make conditions become uncontrollable especially for those parents who are too liberated for their children.

Let us put it this way, as a parent, you should know your kid well than other people. If not, it means, you are doing something wrong on how you brought him up. You maybe not know all the details but at least you have idea on whats going on with his life.
As you have the upper hand on where he is going, better guide him to what you have learned in this life. Sometimes, they need guidance so they know someone is looking after their welfare.
The digital technology is making waves these days, so no surprise if he can learn a lot over the net especially now that there's AI. However, a parent's guidance is still needed as there is no emotional support that you can get from cyberspace.

Perhaps there is a perfect time for such a thing. Even though we intend to educate them early, teaching them at their young age will not be absorbed into their minds. We teach them now, they forget it later. We'd rather wait until they are already mature enough to think more deeply and understand how it works. This is not about knowing what bitcoin is, but also about knowing the technicalities of it. It was not just knowing how to buy, hold, and sell, but also knowing how to keep it safe.

Kids today are very manipulative, trust me, this weakness is from the parents especially the ones that argue in front of their kids, once they show this side of themselves to the kids they see it as weakness, when the timing is right they will manipulate their parents in a way that they won't suspect anything.

Kids today obviously aren't ready for hardship, I wonder how anyone can make a difference or changes when there is no hardship, still I blame the parents for making things too easier for the kids, they need guidance and facts of life.

When things get tougher in life is when we grow stronger, it's also the time we choose to be good or bad, and for those who are religious this is also the time you choose to follow the teachings of the righteous ones or turn evil.

Actually how did he even come to know more about BTC if not being exposed  to  it by someone close (maybe an age grade friend), this actually maybe led him into fraudulent activities online due to been lured by friends who make use of of these online tools negatively
Looking at how it goes I really don’t blame his father you know, after all is 18 and has full potential of what ever he is doing right now. Secondly lying about everything might never be his plan maybe, who really knows.
Teens especially need to be watched carefully by parents, this is the right attitude to avoid their kids being lured by dark webs that might be endangering not just them, but families and the world too.

It is just very unfortunate that most times the young have the potential to be attracted to the negative side of Bitcoin because of the potential for quick gains and profit. In a corrupt society, many young persons are already involved in dubious activities or looking for the next dubious activity to get involved with to get quick cash. If your children are not raised properly in the right moral standards and monitored to ensure that they keep those standards and do not become influenced by their friends, they will be one of these children we do not want our children to mingle with.

Was it that easy to get access to his phone considering how hard it is to open an iPhone or he willingly gave you access to the phone? You should know children are getting smarter with technology especially when they have access to technology at early stage without been monitor and now he is just 18 years old but knows how to use OF content to defraud people, they sometimes use those OF contents and picture with AI to convince victims how real they are but it's all fake.



They didn't choose Bitcoin Bitcoin, they leverage it on the pseudonym of Bitcoin but they were very foolish to think the best way to launder Bitcoin is through Bybit. Like a whole Bybit exchange that is centralized with full KYC requirements. Unless the victims didn't report to the exchange, if concrete evidence is drop against them, the account is going to be suspended and if the amount of Bitcoin is very big, they will not escape what is waiting for them because it will involve FBI.

Similar money stolen was reported today by some Nigerian scammers, they had the mind to steal ether from Campaign funds of Donald Trump and the crazy scammers launder some of the money through Bybit and they are all arrested, this is through Bybit internal affairs and FBI involvement.
https://guardian.ng/news/world/nigeria-based-scammer-impersonates-trump-vance-committee-steals-250k-in-crypto/

So, please don't go soft on that boy, the earlier the better.

This is mostly due to peer influence and parental negligence, which of them get to the child first. When a parent tell their kids about Bitcoin and how they can use it for good purpose, the chances of them getting the wrong message automatically reduces. If parents make effort to teach their children about Bitcoin early enough, some of the problems being discuss now will disappear. Imagine starting a Bitcoin portfolio for your children at such an early age, this will simply make them avoid criminality and focus on growing their money genuinely.

It's hard forcing a kid to do a thing, from my little experience I discovered the more we force kids to do things the more the try to resist. If there is enough motivation as mentioned they will do things even without being forced or complelled to do so.


Poor upbringing contrubutes to children's misuse of technology. There are parents who only communicate with their kids when they wànt to scold  or send them on an errand. This kind of scenario may make them venture into abstract things and stay in high pretence. If parents can be more involved in their children growth and development they will be nothing that will be hidden.

If I were in your position, I would choose the way to advise him to admit all his actions to his father, because I feel that I have no right to interfere in their affairs actually, but because it is part of the family, the thing we can give is to give the best advice in the future in such a way, because we know that if something bad happens in the future, then automatically his father will be involved (if the child is indeed a minor, meaning that he is still under the control or responsibility of his parents), besides that it is also good to advise him about his actions, tell him all the consequences, especially in the Bitcoin transactions he made, then we tell him that he will be easily tracked, because we know that children are still too easy to do actions without thinking twice, and all of that with the hope that he will be aware and especially so that he will not try to do illegal activities again.

There is a lot of money on the internet nowadays, and freelance content creation and mini jobs are paying very well for those who are fortunate enough to be among any of them. The space is booming, but so are online scams.

You can't even tell who is doing a legitimate job online anymore and who is actively scamming innocent people on the internet.

It's crazy how most of those scammers don't even know anything about privacy, yet they know how to convince their victims to trust them and do whateverthey want. I hope the law gets them caught.

I won't quote you further but I read the whole story. It's very familiar to me. One teenager, who is also a sort of friend of mine, knows that I'm into cryptocurrencies and was asking me lots of questions about cryptos. At first I was happy of these questions but later I found out that he wanted to use crypto for bad things to hide traces and the moment I understood his intentions, I stopped answering to his questions and suggested him to do good things in life and to also use crypto for good and not be the one who ruins its reputation because there are many people who really use it for privacy.

Almost all of them are leaving traces that makes them very easy to catch. The problem is that they are often overseas and the enforcement is very low. If they wanted to, they could eliminate the majority of online scams within a year or two. I hope that something changes because the scam industry is way too big.

Some people just know crypto for its anonymity, nothing more than that. Even those who use it for good do so based on wanting to keep a low profile, and those who also want to hide their trace are just like the little one you talk about. You have done your part by giving the advice to him; whether he listens or not is left to him. Many come up with such funny questions, asking as if they mean well or want to understand the blockchain correctly; some just picture crypto at large with the wrong mentality.

The story related is from a grown up man and not about a kid, but it's indeed necessary to be attentive to what kind of character and behavior your offspring are adopting for their lives. I guess nobody, or at least most people, wouldn't want their sons taking wrong decisions and criminal paths in life, so it's a must to direct them through honest and ethical ways along their journeys. The decision will be always theirs, but parents can always try their best to educate and guide the ones they love the most.

Anyway, Bitcoin is just a neutral tool, which can be used for different purposes, being them good or evil, depending who is using it, and for what reasons. Bitcoin can be related to awesome uplifting stories of success and resilience, but also to very nasty and shameful ones.

Your decisions will be okay by you because as for me 13 years is a good age bracket enough for me to start introducing Bitcoin to my kids, I believe if they start leaning especially the basics before getting to 18 they will become more grounded with Bitcointalk knowledge including the potential risks and benefits, if kids grow up to a certain point where they are even earning it also means that they are are very much responsible for their actions and reactions, the only thing you can do is to guide them ass much as you can while they have their final decision.

Where there's an advantage, there's also a disadvantage and I believe that what sets some people apart from the lot is morals and i agree that these days it's quite difficult to differentiate who is a legit online worker and who isn't but I believe that such things, especially the illegal ones have their ways of coming to light.
The kid got easily influenced because I doubt there was anyone to tell him the extent at which his actions could cost him.

The future is of Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, big data, Crypto and BitcoinBTC and everyone is expected to know about them from basis to the level one is involved with them in their professional and daily life. A 13 year old kid understand things well and he or she should know about the basis of bitcoin at least. Ideally, one should tell the kids the basics about Bitcoin and also introduce them chatgpt where they can query and find more details about this. Teenage is an age of learning, and luckily, we have so much information available online that never existed before.

Yes! A thief at age 18 is no child, those bad directions have been forming for some time and are not new thoughts. That kid needs to be forced to face reality, perhaps even go to jail for a while, or he will be at risk of always being a criminal.

18 is still young, they could do stupid things as minds not fully matured we all go to these same phase in life. But this one seem trying to impress his father like he can get make money online by defrauding.

I'm not sure if I could really confront the father about it but I would probably tell the kid to tell the truth himself to his father before he learns it in a very cruel manner. But if it works for OP, I guess its his way.

It's not as if the little boy might not know what will be the after effect but just that he might have been blinded by the influence from friends and the sweetness of money which is being gotten by doing those cheap scam, which makes the person not to care about what ever will be the effect later as they also think they can't be tracked, and its also very much possible that they don't really know about the effect like you have said unless being told and we can tell what will be the after decision even if they know about it.

Friends and easy money can actually blind the minds of the young people more especially when there is no one or no one strong enough to guide them the right path to take. There are also times that they are aware of the fact that what they are doing is wrong but excitement and fast pay-off becomes a dominant aspect of their actions. And in most of the instances they are not fully aware of the after effects that they encounter later in life. Here the morals and proper upbringing will play a big role. There are confusions between the wrong and the right and it is easy to drift into the wrong track with such issues when online. However, as you mentioned, the truth can find a way at coming out and those shortcuts can hardly end up in something good.

Upbringing is the key, of course, if you are a good parent, you will always make sure that your children learn what's right and what's wrong, what's good and what's bad for them at their age or the age they are going to enter. This will make things clearl in their minds, and they won't get confused when choosing between the right and the wrong, because they will remember your teachings, and if you don't do any of that, don't even teach anything to your children and think that they will learn everything themselves, there is a high chance that they will choose the wrong path because it's usually easier.

The temptation for growth is so great that it can shake anyone's patience. If you notice, bad things usually come with greater growth, because if you choose the right path, you might have more hurdles in the way of success, but the success you get will have more value and strength compared to the success you get from the shortcuts.

So undoubtedly, only a parent or a good guardian can teach all these things to a kid, or, they might not be able to choose the right path.

Exactly the reality. Online jobs are definitely giving high compensation these days so it’s not surprising why a lot of people have been hooked all over internet, but it’s undeniable that online scams are offering bigger opportunities to earn wherein getting rich quick may turn possible.

However, despite all of this, it’s still an obligation of a parent to check his child whether all of these are actually giving him true welfare, or this could even put him into its worst situation without the father knowing.

Scammers aren’t smart, their victims are just gullible or too greedy to see the signs. I have been seeing a bunch of scam stories online where the scammers were caught because they used a centralized exchange to receive crypto from their victims. It’s funny how these scammers do not know that the coins are linked to their identity. They just assume crypto is magic and untraceable.

Most likely, these are very young scammers if they allow themselves to be found and caught. Perhaps it is time to categorize scammers by their level of intelligence. Sometimes we encounter such sophisticated scams that we want to believe some individuals possess a great talent for deception, but they misuse it. Others, as you correctly noted, are stupid and greedy, and perhaps they are the same age as the one the OP is referring to in their post.

I will engage my kids to know internet money(bitcoin) before they even start going to kindergarten but the level of exposure is going to be limited to the things they know. I don't want to be a dad that will be teaching my kids the things they need to know early at the age of teenage. I once saw a bitcoin book thread here for kids explaining basic things Bitcoin can do for people, those are the kind of books parents with aspiring Bitcoin can get to their kids to learn and not necessarily learn the technical aspect.

I will be happy if my kid have a place in his heart to have some Bitcoin, like if I can get the opportunity to go back in time I will be what I want my kid to do now but unfortunately I can't do that but I can make my kids do the same. The problem here is that this guy parents failed him, they didn't do the duty of parent or maybe they did but didn't try enough to study what their kids done behind scenes, children can be innocent until you see the things they do in hidden.

Why did you decide that fraudsters accepting Bitcoin at a centralized exchange address would register an account in their own name? I don't think they are that stupid. Most likely, they buy ready-made accounts on OTC and simply use them to withdraw money to clean wallets. Personally, I don't think that a victim of fraud would report the incident to the exchange's technical support, and the security system would have time to block the funds within 10-20 minutes. Maybe some scammers aren't very smart, but if they're involved in fraud, their victims are even less smart.

If scammers are not smart, how can they scam others? How can they make people believe in them and take away their property? Clearly, many scammers may not be very intelligent, but they are not stupid if they succeed in deceiving others.

If I remember correctly there are a lot of centralized exchange account buying and selling groups on Telegram as well as a lot of people offering KYC rental services at very affordable prices. It's not hard to find those things and I don't think scammers are stupid enough not to know them.

It's a sum of two factors - both how the scammers scam and how people may fall for it because of not having proper experience.

And it plays out depending on how these two work out.

Wow, this is really sad. This is definitely something as I father I often think about, how am I going to introduce bitcoin to these kids and make sure that they are safe? Focus on security and proper storage techniques and proper online behavior. Virtues & strong emphasis on faith and religion and doing what is right. Without that any son can go off astray and end up the wrong way. This is surely a difficult position to be in OP, hopefully this can be a turning point in the boy's life and he can change his ways. Pray for him.

Giving ideas about Bitcoin is certainly a good idea, but their work is not over by giving parents only financial or technical ideas. It should also be seen whether the child is growing up with the right track or not. Many parents just trust their children and leave them alone. But young children do not understand when they are involved in bad things, which is why every parent should not only give good ideas about financial or technical aspects, they should also give special importance to value of education, moral education to stay on the right path. Along with technical education, if any child has these educations, no child can go astray. Parents must make their children good people. Then they will be able to do well in all aspects of life. Of course, if they have knowledge about Bitcoin, those children will be aware of the positive financial situation in the future, but if their sense of value is not developed, that money will not be of any use to them.

The reason why people fall for scams is because they are ignorant, so scammers take advantage of their lack of understanding. If you really understand things very well, it is impossible for scammers to get to you. Most of the scammers are not even smart about the things they do; that is why, in the end, it is even easy to catch them. Knowledge is the most important thing to have because when it is there, one has the advantage of not becoming prey to scammers.

A lot is happening in the world today, especially in the online world, and it's quite unfortunate that scamming people have become very normal amongst youths in some part of the world and they even consider it as a source of livelihood, some even have some kind of schools where people go to learn how to do fraud, and thus why it's important to always monitor our kids' online activities and make sure that they don't get corrupted by these bad eggs in the society. Very soon, the fight against online scams would be way more serious that what we see today and those who are involved will definitely have serious penalties melted on them, and the least we could do is protect our young ones, and even when we find out that our kids are already involved, it's crucial to educate them, advice them and lead them towards a more better path.

You know what's even more pitiful in all of this? It's the fact that some parents knowing fully well that their children are actively involved in online scam, rather than trying to talk them out of it are even abating them and even supporting and financing them, like getting them sophisticated devices and tools to facilitate their work online. Sometime ago, I saw a post on Facebook, a young man was arrested for internet fraud, that wasn't all, I was shocked to see that his father and mother were also dragged into the case as accomplices of this young man and I ask myself what good morals would such parents impact in their children when they're the ones supporting them in their evil acts

We cant be perfect and we do commit out those mistakes but we do know that there's always a solid reason on why a certain person would be dealing up something illegal or non-ethical despite that being guided with their parents on the right way but still there would be those tendencies that these kids will be ending up on dealing into something which isnt that good. The best thing you have done is that you have told the kid and didnt tolerate out the mistake and letting know your uncle about it. Its better to bust it up early while things becomes that more messy as it do goes ahead. There would be those external things that could be the reason that influence you out on doing things even if its not right anymore. We do know that when it comes into overall utility and usage of crypto then it isnt just that exempted for good utility but also it could be used into other means like something about some fraud or illegal things on which someone could be that definitely be having that kind of involvement and as a parent then we cant anytime having that kind of monitoring into our kids on which simply means that we might be able to skip out some things on which our kids been that doing. This isnt just that limited on crypto but also in other things as well. It wouldnt be that totally be all blamed into the parents if ever their kids commit out something because we do have our own mind when it comes on dealing into something whether its good or bad but still decision making will be that totally having that independent approach and of course it will be that being still depending whether they will be that taking up decisions about engaging into something. Curiosity does play a major role and on the time that you've seen that you can make serious amount of money then it will be that the determining factor whether you would be staying up on the same situation as long you do make money then you wont be caring about being ethical or not.

To some extent, I wouldn't really blame the boy, children are not born criminal or fraudsters but the environment and the situation of things happening around them change them. It's the job of every parent to check up on their kids and not just assume, provide all necessary things needed and ensure they don't go looking for it illegally. There are several kids out there age 18 who already carry the burden of the family at an early age but most parents do not really care to ask the source of their income because they are providing until it hunts them down. Every child's outcome starts from the home and I believe he did what he did to provide for himself and the family too. Men always have the responsibility right from birth and the pressure can be very suppressing at times.

Kids always try to waste time because they don't know the importance of life and they spend money on useless things but parents could guide them to stay ahead in life and don't distract . Bitcoin trading is best to get good income online and they will pay their fees with no burden on head. There are thousands of people who are Investing money but they are not giving knowledge to anybody. People should be aware of Bitcoin and trading because it they have no knowledge about that then they could lose the opportunity. People always tried hard to save money and they could give this money to children to invest in good platform which will grow in the future.Smart work always matters a lot if one want to be successful in life.

I am not surprised by this story because majority of young people who are into making money from online and are not trading or gambling, are definitely into one form of fraud or another, and indeed what you said is very true, parents need to always keep an eye on children most especially those who are just or still in their teen and already making money, parents must ensure to be sure of what the child is doing online to generate income.

And eighteen years old boy should still be in school if I am not mistaken, but he's already involved in internet fraud, what then will he become when he finally makes it to adulthood? Maybe he will become a full fledged criminal, arm robber by then, this should be forbidden and parents should always give attention to their children and every activity they engage themselves in.

I don’t think there should no be excuse for crime, the environment which you grow, and no situation shouldn’t lead anyone into crime, I have seen people from a poor background, and they never choose to go into fraud. You talking about the Environment which the children grow, I will say no matter the environment which you grow, if you choose  to involve yourself in crime, then you going to do that, and if you choose not to do that, then you won’t, no matter how bad a environment is, there are children that grow in the environment, and they don’t involve themselves in any illegal activities.

All these still boils down to parental up bringing, as a Parent, right from childhood you start teaching your child about the good and bad things of life, and as the child keeps growing up into adolescent, youth and then to an adulthood you keep monitoring and teaching your children about the do’s and don't of the society in other to prevent the child from going astray in life, because as a father or mother, whatever affects your child, affects you, therefore more attention must be given to children at these very stage because nowadays children are more technological than our  time, therefore when they are onlines doing some nasty things, we should always keep telling them the wright things, even we as parents we should be try to be up and doing technologically, so that we can do understand what they say, and when it comes to Bitcoin you should ask them to explain to your understanding and make your own research, don't just believe everything they tell you.

For me, since I have passion on bitcoin I don't think it's bad for someone child to go into bitcoin, for me I will devote out time to teach my children bitcoin so that they will know the advantages and the disadvantages of bitcoin earlier before  their time

Secondly they will know that it's their father that impact the knowledge of bitcoin for them, for me I can't condenm the fact of teaching so many people bitcoin, because I know quit well that bitcoin has taken over the world and children are willing to learn and know about Bitcoin without their parents concepts,it will be better for my children to know of bitcoin through me than to struggle outside to know bitcoin.

Not blaming the person or child who commits crime is wrong. There are many reasons why people turn to crime, some are addictions and uncontrollable greed. Children can also develop greed if they are exposed to bad stuff or not taught properly. Still there are children who are exposed to these things and they don't become like that.

The topic is not only about that though. You can try to teach your kids good stuff, but if they have a lot of exposure online they may learn bad behavior and with Bitcoin they may try to steal money from others.

That's right - whether we like it or not, we learn from the closest people to us, especially in the younger age: and it's better to teach them properly about the concepts that would interest them then just shut that path down.