Safer Internet Center: Online bullying, sextortion and fraud are the most common online problems faced by Bulgarian children

On February 10, International Safer Internet Day – SafeNet.bg presents the main results of its educational and advisory activities in 2025. The data show increasing activity of parents in seeking support and the ongoing fight against online bullying and sexual exploitation.

What children, parents and teachers face and what they seek help for
The advisory line 124 123 and its online chat remain the only ones in our country for targeted support to children facing the dangers for adolescents in the digital world. In 2025, the line reported a higher share of calls from parents and teachers seeking help due to a specific problematic situation.
Of all calls, 42% are from parents, which is an increase of 16% compared to 2024. This shows increasing awareness and proactivity of parents who seek professional support before the problem escalates. Teenagers (11-18 years old) are the second largest group with 40% of calls. For the second year in a row, the share of teachers and professionals working with children who report a problem and ask for advice has also increased.
Top 5 most common problems faced by children on the Internet
Online bullying remains a persistent problem and the most common reason for calling 124 123. Children and teenagers become victims of:
● Bullying through fake profiles (on Instagram, Discord, etc.);
● Mocking and insults in group chats such as Viber – because of appearance, clothing, interests;
● Publishing photos without consent in groups or profiles.
Children between 11 and 13 years old are the most vulnerable group. In many cases, bullying starts online, but continues at school, creating an environment in which the child does not feel safe anywhere.
Abuse of personal data and digital identity is the second most common problem. Parents and children call when:
● Social media accounts have been hacked;
● Fake profiles were created with the child’s name and photos;
● Personal information (phone number, address, school) was published without consent;
● The child shared passwords or personal data with a stranger and they were misused.
The center draws attention to how important digital literacy is even for the youngest. Children often do not understand that a password is also personal information that should not be shared even with a friend at school.
The third most common problem is harassment and blackmail with nude photos and videos (sextortion). Typical cases include:
● Threats to publish intimate photos or videos;
● Computer-generated images – children’s faces are superimposed on naked bodies;
● Blackmail – “If you don’t send more photos, I will publish what I have”;
● Grooming – adults who pose as peers, gain the child’s trust and force them to send intimate materials.
Fake profiles are often used for manipulation, and girls aged 13-16 are most affected.
Online crimes and fraud are in 4th place, but also with the highest growth compared to the previous two years. In 2025, calls for advice on how to deal with online fraud are twice as many. Children become targets of:
● Phishing attacks – fraudulent messages that look like they are from familiar platforms
● Game scams – promises of free diamonds, skins or currency in exchange for personal data
● Financial fraud – requests for verification codes, bank card details
Parents often find out about the problem when the child has already shared sensitive information or the family has become a victim of financial fraud.
The fifth most common challenge is coming across harmful content. Parents mostly call about such a problem and it concerns cases in which:

● The child has been exposed to violence, hate or extremist content while visiting sites, platforms and games;
● Parents have found pornographic content in the browser history;
● The child has come across content about dangerous challenges, inappropriate advertising with pornography, betting and gambling, fake news, etc.
It is not uncommon for the problem to come from devices of other children at school, on which there is no parental control program installed. The platforms where children most often encounter a problem in our country are Instagram, TikTok, Discord, Facebook/Messenger and Viber.

SafeNet.bg also processes the signals it receives through the Hotline for reporting sexual extortion and pornographic materials. In the vast majority of cases, a signal leads to the disclosure of platforms and addresses with a large volume of similar materials (photos and videos), which the Center also processes and reports. The disclosed and processed materials in 2025 are over 3,500,000. This is again a twofold increase compared to the previous year. For nearly 6% of the disclosed materials, SafeNet has signaled to the Bulgarian investigative and law enforcement authorities as being hosted on IP addresses in Bulgaria. The remaining over 3.5 million are directed to INHOPE – the international network of hotlines. The exponential growth of child pornographic content reflects the global nature of the problem of online abuse of the most vulnerable.

Alarming trend
In 2025, the Advisory Line registered a higher number of calls from children with a desire to self-harm or suicidal thoughts compared to previous years. The Safer Internet Center draws attention to the fact that this is a critical signal for the need for preventive mental health programs in schools.
The center reports a specific case in which a SafeNet consultant reported to police and social services the whereabouts of a 9-year-old child who sought help by calling 124 123. The consultant remained on the line with the child until the authorities found him and managed to prevent a fatal outcome.

Prevention through knowledge – the role of educational activities for children, parents and teachers
In 2025, the Safer Internet Center reached a new 40,000 people through educational activities. Nearly 25,000 children in schools across the country participated in digital media literacy classes led by SafeNet experts or directly by teachers. For years, the center has provided educational experts with free resources and ready-made interactive lessons for children in grades 1-4, 5-7 and 8-12.
Over 9,000 new educational experts – key partners for prevention in the school environment – have completed the Center’s training. The programs are aimed at recognizing the dangers of teachers themselves and ways to respond to a problem.
Parents are also a growing audience for educational seminars in schools. Information meetings have been organized for over 6,000 parents from all over the country at the initiative of the schools themselves. Discussions with parents aim to provide information on prevention and response to online bullying, CSAM, phishing and financial fraud, parental control programs, healthy use of technology, etc. The best approach to a problem is a calm conversation and consultation by phone 124 123 or via the chat on the site – for specific steps to take. Children often feel guilty in a problematic situation. Taking away devices and reproaching for the situation only traumatize the child further, make him isolate himself even more and he may not want to share in the event of a future problem.
What’s coming up in the International Safer Internet Month
On the occasion of the International Safer Internet Day, the NetZ youth group at the Bulgarian Safer Internet Center is launching an educational initiative in schools in the capital. The program will continue throughout February and will offer peer-to-peer educational classes, in which older students will teach younger ones.
The topics of the educational classes will be personal data, strong passwords and how to protect our personal information. For older students, the topics will be about disinformation and strangers on the Internet – who not to trust. In the form of a discussion, upper-year students will work with children from fifth and eighth grades, sharing practical advice and real examples from their own experience. The idea for the classes to be based on the “peer-to-peer” method came from the NetZ youth, as children feel more comfortable sharing with their peers and accepting advice from classmates close to their age. SafeNet will support young people in organizing and implementing the initiative in schools.
On the occasion of Safer Internet Month, SafeNet.bg also provides a new resource for parents – a guide “Top 5 Red Flags for an Online Problem”. The material is a short and simple guide for children and parents and can now be downloaded from the Center’s website – safenet.bg.

About the National Safer Internet Center (NCBI)
The National Safer Internet Center (SafeNet.bg) has been implementing state policy and Bulgaria’s commitments under several EU directives and international conventions for 21 years. The advisory helpline for children and parents 124 123 has existed since 2010. In addition to the phone line, the Center also maintains a chat channel, which children often prefer to a phone call. The founder of the Center and the main coordinator of its activities is the Parents Association, together with the Bulgarian Family Planning Association and the National Network for Children.

The Center has been a partner of the international networks INHOPE and Insafe since its establishment. The organization has a Quality Certificate from INHOPE, and in Bulgaria also from the Ministry of Interior, and for years has been a recognized trusted partner of international and local structures and organizations (including the Bulgarian Anti-Bullying Agency), as well as major social platforms. That is why signals through the Center are processed much faster than if they were submitted directly by a user. The Center is also in a long-term partnership with major mobile operators in Bulgaria. With Yettel, it implemented the initiative for interactive classroom lessons for teachers – freely accessible resources for daily educational practice, and with A1 – the initiative for responsible influencers.

Since its establishment, the NCBI has supported over 140,000 children, youth, parents and teachers through over 800 trainings throughout the country. Assistance has been provided to over 130,000 children and parents through the Hotline and Advisory Line. Safer Internet Day is celebrated every year on the second Tuesday of February to raise awareness about safer and responsible use of online technologies, especially by children and young people.