When your kid talk about Bitcoin don't assume it's all good

[Outhue]

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.

[Zlantann]

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.

[alani123]

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.

[Ruttoshi]

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.  

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.

[ABCbits]

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?

[Mpamaegbu]

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.

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.

[mvdheuvel1983]

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

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.

[MArsland]

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.

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.

[Jewan420]

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.

[Lucius]

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.

[Cryptohygenic]

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.

[lovesmayfamilis]

This boy and his friend choose to rob people online and he is only 18 years old,

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.

[Davidvictorson]

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.

[Bastketsrus]

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.

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.

[Taskford]

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.

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.

[peter0425]

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.

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.

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.

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.

[Felicity_Tide]

~snip

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?

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.

[lizarder]

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.  

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.

[Ziskinberg]

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.

[Swordsoffreedom]

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. 

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.

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.

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.