New Game Console for a Kid? Lock Down the Account First
A console or Roblox account under the tree? Set spending limits, chat controls and two-step verification first, so free-currency offers have nowhere to go.
“Free Robux.” “Free V-Bucks.” “Log in here to claim your skin.” Every child who games will see offers like these within weeks. Before the console is plugged in, decide three things: how much can be spent, who can chat, and how the account is locked.
Gaming scams aimed at children work through two routes. One is money: a purchase, a gift card code or a parent’s saved card. The other is the account itself: a password or code handed over for a promised reward, after which the account and everything in it belong to someone else. The settings below close both routes on the platforms most families use.
“There are no sanctioned offerings of free Robux,” and Roblox says it will “never ask for your password outside of the Roblox login page.”
For child accounts, the monthly spending limit is set to 0 by default.
Restrict spending “by turning it off, requiring a password, or setting a dollar limit.”
Platform by platform
| Platform | Spending | Chat and contacts | Where to set it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roblox | Monthly spending cap on Robux and subscriptions; high-spend alerts at $100, $250 and $500 a month by default | Chat requires an age check; under-13 trusted-friend requests need parent approval | Child’s Settings > Parental Controls > Add parent (parent verifies with ID or a credit card) |
| Xbox | “Ask to Buy” notifies you when a child requests a purchase they can’t fund; you can load a set amount instead of linking a card | Parents approve friend requests and control multiplayer and communication | Xbox Family Settings app |
| PlayStation | Monthly Spending Limit, default 0 for children | Communication and User-Generated Content > Restrict disables text and voice chat with other players | Settings > Family and Parental Controls > Family Management, or the PlayStation Family app |
| Nintendo Switch | Nintendo eShop purchase restrictions | Communication restrictions; on Switch 2, GameChat for under-16s only with parent-approved friends | Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app |
Details come from Roblox’s parental controls page, the Xbox Family Settings app page, Sony’s guide to PlayStation parental controls and spending limits and Nintendo’s parental controls page. Menu names change; if a path does not match, search the platform’s own help site.
Spending: decide the number, then let the system say no
A monthly limit is easier on everyone than arguments about individual purchases. Pick a number, set it, and let the platform refuse anything above it. Roblox notes that its monthly cap resets each month and does not roll over, and that it does not affect gift-card redemption. A search excerpt of Roblox’s help center adds that spending limits set on Roblox do not apply to purchases made through Xbox, so set limits on the console too if your child plays Roblox there.
Spending controls matter because games are built to make buying easy. The FTC’s April 2025 alert on kids, games and unexpected payments reminds parents that “each click is a payment.” In 2022 the FTC announced that Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, would pay $520 million over allegations that included letting children buy in-game currency without parental consent; the FTC’s press release says $245 million of that was set aside for refunds.
Chat: the door scammers knock on
“Free currency” offers usually arrive from another player, often with a link or a request to move to a different app. The FTC’s guide to kids and video games says chat restrictions let parents turn chat off, and suggests being wary of players who ask to move the conversation to another platform.
For younger children, start with chat off or limited to approved friends. Roblox’s April 2026 announcement of age-based accounts says that on Roblox Kids accounts, for ages 5 to 8, “all communication is disabled by default.” The FTC’s order against Epic required voice and text chat to be off by default for children and teens unless a parent consents, which shows how regulators view the risk.
The account: lock it like an email account
A child’s gaming account may hold years of purchases and is attractive to thieves. Protect it the way you would protect your own email:
- Use the child’s own email address or a family address you control, not a throwaway.
- Turn on two-step verification. Roblox says its 2-Step Verification and passkeys help avoid account takeover, and it lives under Settings > Security on the Roblox scams page.
- Keep the password and codes with a parent for younger children. A child who does not know the password cannot be talked into sharing it.
- Link the parent account so security emails reach you as well.
Phrases that mean “scam” in any game
Teach these as a short list rather than a lecture. If anyone in a game says one of these, the right answer is to stop and tell a parent:
- “Free Robux / V-Bucks / skins, just log in here.”
- “I’m a moderator. Send me your password or the code you just got.”
- “Let’s trade on another site, it’s easier.”
- “Buy this gift card and send me the code, I’ll give you double.”
- “Your account will be banned unless you verify.”
Our articles on fake Discord admins and checking a Steam trade before confirming it walk through two of these patterns in detail for older kids and teens.
If something already happened
Change the password from a parent’s device, turn on two-step verification, sign the account out everywhere if the platform allows it, and contact the platform’s official support through its website. If a card was charged, call the card issuer. Tell your child they did the right thing by telling you; the next scam message is easier to report if this one did not end in punishment. Roblox’s own advice for scams in progress is short: “Disengage and report.”
For the phone or tablet your child may also be getting, see our setup guide for a child’s first phone or tablet.
Sources
- Roblox: Frauds and scams
- Roblox: Parental controls
- Roblox: New age-based accounts (April 13, 2026)
- Xbox Family Settings app
- PlayStation: Parental controls and spending limits
- Nintendo: Parental controls
- FTC: Kids and video games
- FTC: Kids, video games, ads and unexpected payments (April 10, 2025)
- FTC press release on Epic Games (December 19, 2022)