Hey There,

Thanks for joining us for another edition of Mini Millionaires.

This week, we’re talking about something super important: How to teach kids to spot financial scams

Connectedness is cool. How else would we be able to send you this newsletter?

But it comes at a cost. Scammers.

And if they’re not scamming you out of your money, they’re getting hold of personal info, causing all sorts of issues.

So while we certainly don't want to spread fear, it’s a super important topic to discuss with your mini millionaires.

Hopefully, it encourages them to keep their eyes wide open online.

Kids are digital natives.

And because they’re tech-savvy, it opens up a whole new world of dodgy characters trying to work their online scams on unsuspecting kids. Everything from social media scams, online shopping scams, to freebies and competitions, and more, the golden rule is: If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

But teaching your mini millionaires to spot scams early helps them tune into their spidey senses, and hopefully saves them from the unpleasantness of getting scammed, while preparing them for the future, where scammers will only get smarter and better-skilled thanks to advances in technology.

Hit pause and question that shiny offer

Encourage kids to treat offers that look fun or urgent like a brain teaser that needs a moment to think things through.

Young people are actually more than three times more likely to fall for financial scams than their grandparents. Hard to believe, but that’s mostly due to scams being tailored for younger people.

Remind children: if you come across an offer too good to be true, be especially cautious if it makes you feel rushed to sign up, click, or provide any sort of information.

Takeaway: Pause for a sec. It might save you from regret.

Always check before you click or share

Turn “checking in” into a family rule. 

Encourage your mini millionaire to check in with you before they respond to any offer they see or receive, especially if it’s related to money or personal info. This is even more important if they have their own phones with access to emails and social media.

A second pair of eyes (especially ones that have a little more life experience, like mom and dad) is essential. 

It’s so important that your child knows they can check in with you without being scared or feeling embarrassed.

Takeaway: A quick check-in with an adult builds safety.

Make screenshots second nature

Teach kids that their first action when seeing something suspicious like an ad for ‘free Robux’, crazy discounts on a pair of popular shoes, or even a weird message from someone they don't know (or even someone they do), is to take a screenshot. 

Then ask mom and dad…

Share that screenshot in the family chat before deciding what to do next. This simple habit reinforces the moment to pause and allows adults to assess risk calmly together with them.

This week’s free printable is designed to spark important family conversations about scams. 

So print it out, cut out each card, laminate them, and use them to kickstart those scamversations around the dinner table or during family time.

Each card has a scenario, everything from “win a prize” tricks to “pay upfront” traps, and kids can decide together: is it a scam or is it safe? 

It’s a simple way to practice spotting red flags before your mini millionaire encounters them in real life. 

PLUS: We’re busy turning these into a full-blown card game, so please send us your scam scenarios, and they might just end up in a future Fintr game.

We’ve had a busy few weeks in July and August, so we wanted to share some highlights. 

First, we won the Bank of America and Edge Growth Accelerator in July. 

Then we hosted a dedicated games room at The Open Letter event in Stellenbosch in August, where event attendees could get in on the FinMaster action. 

Then we had the honour of Fintr being selected to be part of the Endeavor x E Squared Pathways Growth Mentoring Program. 

We also hosted a number of school workshops and demo days for Fintr4Schools, our gamified EMS learning platform. 

The Fintr team will be at Comic Con Africa in Johannesburg to wrap up a busy few weeks at the end of August. If you’re at Comic Con Africa, come and say hi.

Thanks to everyone who’s supporting us on our mission to use games to teach young people about money.

Last week, we asked what the first big thing you saved up for as a child, and music/tech gadgets were the order of the day. Does anyone remember listening stations in CD stores?

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🚲 A bike

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🎮 A game or console

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🎢 A special trip or experience

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🎧 Music or tech (CD player, headphones, gadget)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ✏️ Something else (tell us)

What you said: 

“It was a CD - I shant mention the album. My taste in music has improved significantly since then. It was, however, stolen a mere handful of months later. So silver lining type story.”

No one looks back on the kind of music they used to listen to without feeling the slightest hint of shame - hahahaha. But now we’re dying to know what it was, though.

What’s the mindset, habit, or tip you want to try this week?

What worked, what didn’t? Or is there something that’s got you and your mini millionaire excited? 

We’d love to get your thoughts, so hit reply to this email and let us know what's on your mind.

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