Meet Tracy Hall: From scam victim to expert – how Tracy teaches her daughter about money and what all parents need to know about scams

Kit’s MD Yish Koh recently sat down with Tracy Hall, a well-known advocate and educator on scams and fraud. Tracy brings a unique perspective – her personal experience of losing her life savings to a well-known criminal 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

It's just been 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 into the same bank account. 

It’s a relatively low amount given the cost of things, but if you're always being given money and don't have to work for it, I don’t think you ever fully appreciate it. If she runs out of money one week because she spent her entire pocket money 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 you work for it. She’s very motivated by money, so she does some 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 I had to point out that saving is important, but also having money to spend on the things that you love to do and experiences is just as important. 

Now she saves half of everything she earns. I’m sure that will change over time as she gets older and the type and amount of work she does change. Next year she gets her driver's licence, for example, and she knows she won’t just get given a car – she’ll have to start saving for that.

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 money, about how it can be powerful to have a level of knowledge to make informed decisions and not rely on anyone else – especially as a woman. And to remove the inner talk that says, “I’m bad at maths” or "Girl Maths”.
• Reinforce broader financial literacy – e.g. she’s talking about tax and superannuation with her daughter now. When we lean into money rather than letting it take care of itself or letting someone else take care of it, we are less likely to be financially vulnerable.
• 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, where you grew up or what postcode you live in – we are all being targeted.

Practical Advice for Parents on Avoiding Scams and Fraud

Tracy’s advice for parents to help their kids avoid scams and fraud:

1. 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 was the victim of a sextortion scam. Have you heard of that? What do you think?”
2. 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? Help them build their critical thinking skills.
3. Have the unpleasant conversation upfront – Kids might not share if they’ve fallen victim to a scam with their parents because they're worried that their device will be taken off them or they'll get in trouble. To help kids feel safe to share what’s happened, reassure them and talk through an action plan together.
4. Busyness is a vulnerability – Parents are busy, stretched and tired. One way that criminals try and scam you is by catching you when you are distracted or busy – hoping you'll act quickly without checking or thinking rationally. 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.
5. 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 and disappearing messages (DM) are allowed. This includes social media (Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Discord), but also WhatsApp, and even Roblox. Fake AI profiles build relationships quickly, and they then 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.

This is not happening in dark corners of the internet in places far from here. It's happening in our lounge rooms and our kids' bedrooms, and the best thing to do is upskill your level of knowledge and understanding and talk to your kids.

Tracy is building education resources to help parents learn about this type of scam targeting their kids. Take the online quiz today 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.