Kit’s MD Yish Koh recently sat down with Tracy Hall, a well-known advocate for scams and fraud. Tracy brings a unique perspective – her personal experience as a victim of a well-known scammer and how that has shaped her teaching her 15-year-old daughter about money.
Tracy’s approach to money: If you want it, earn it – but balance saving and
spending
Our family has been just the two of us since she was 4½ years old. One thing I've been keen for her to understand is that you don't get paid just to do the basics. I never wanted a scenario where she'd ask, “How much do I get for that?” if I asked her to do something.
From the age of 8, she has earned $10/week pocket money from me, as a gift for contributing to the household and helping out when I ask. She also receives $10/week from her father, and what she does with that is between the two of them.
It’s a relatively low amount given the cost of things, but if you're always being given things and don't have to try, you never fully appreciate them. If she has run out of money because she spent it all on frozen yoghurt with her friends, I don’t fold and give her more.
Anything else she wants to buy, like branded clothing, is fine if she works for it. She’s very motivated by money, so she does babysitting (which she loves) and has worked in a café for a few months.
We went through a stage where she just wanted to save everything she earned. But then I had to point out that saving is important, but also having money to spend on the things that you love to do, and that experiences are just as important.
Now she saves half of everything she earns, but that will be changing over time as the amount of work she does changes, and next year she gets her driver's licence, and she knows she won’t just get given a car!
Turning personal experience into money lessons for her daughter
Tracy’s experience as a scam victim means she is more conscious with her daughter to:
- Talk about women and money, about how it can be powerful to make decisions and not rely on anyone else. And to not believe that boys are better at maths!
- Reinforce broader financial literacy – e.g. she’s talking about tax and superannuation with her daughter now. When leaning into money rather than letting it take care of itself or letting someone else take care of it, the less likely we are to be scammed and defrauded.
- And of course, talk regularly about scams. There is a scam for everyone – young and old. Anyone can be a victim – it doesn't matter how well educated you are, it doesn't matter where you grew up, or what postcode you live in.
Practical Advice for Parents on Avoiding Scams and Fraud
Tracy’s advice for parents to help their kids avoid scams and fraud:
- Open communication – Open communication can help children feel comfortable raising concerns. Use case studies to open up the conversation in a non-judgemental manner, e.g. “I read a story about a boy who fell victim to a sextortion scam. Have you heard of that? What do you think?”
- Encourage your children to check the facts – When hearing stories that sound a bit weird, ask: Is that true? How do you know that's true? Did you verify that information? Who’s telling it to you, and why might they be telling you that?
- Have the unpleasant conversation upfront – Kids might not share if they’ve fallen victim with their parents because they're worried that their device will be taken off them, but to help kids feel safe to share what’s happened, reassure them and talk through an action plan together.
- Pause in the to-do list rush – Parents are busy, stretched, and tired. They’re more likely to fall victim to a scam if they’re rushing and don’t stop to think about something that looks odd. For example, the “Hey mum” scam, where someone posing as the child says they’ve lost their phone and need money to get home, playing on the sense of fear and urgency.
- Check-in – Not just with your kids who are doing stuff online that you may have no idea about, but also your parents who might feel lonely, especially if they're widowed. Have the open conversations, talk about money - it's the silent secrecy that allows scammers to thrive.
You need to know: The fastest-growing scam category for pre-teens and teens is sextortion
Reports to the eSafety Commissioner of sextortion scams have grown 1300% in the past 3 years. It can occur on any platform where direct messages (DM) are allowed. This includes social media (Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Discord), but also WhatsApp, and even Roblox. Fake AI profiles build relationships and encourage the teen or the preteen to send an illicit photo or video (or use AI to create a ‘deepfake’) and extort them for money by threatening to share the images.
Tracy is building resources to help parents deal with this scam. To test your knowledge, visit: sextortionquiz.tracyhall.com.au.
Tracy Hall is an author, keynote speaker, and senior marketing executive with over 25 years of experience at global tech companies, including eBay, Virgin, GoDaddy and Afterpay.
In 2019, Tracy became known as the “last victim” of Australia’s most infamous conman, Hamish McLaren. In 2024, she published her memoir, The Last Victim, detailing her personal experience with intimate fraud and its emotional, psychological and financial toll.
As an advocate for victims of financial crimes, Tracy works with organisations worldwide to raise awareness and educate others on scams, fraud, financial empowerment, victim-blaming narratives, resilience and trust. She was recently named as one of the Top 20 Fraud Experts to follow on LinkedIn by Trustfull.
She also serves as a board director for Mongrels Men, a men’s mental health charity and a special advisor with CyberTrace – an organisation that investigates cyber fraud and stolen cryptocurrency.