Cyber Safety Briefs for Athletes: A Practical Guide to Scams, Social Engineering, and Survival
In the age of NIL, livestreams, and seven-figure endorsement deals, the modern athlete isn’t just playing the game—they’ve become the game. As personal brands rise, so does cyber exposure. Threat actors are no longer just targeting leagues or front offices—they’re bypassing the organization and going straight after the individual: the athlete, their family, their agent, and their phone.
And they’re succeeding.
Whether you’re in college or the pros, your digital identity is just as valuable as your physical one. That’s why every athlete needs a Cyber Safety Brief—not theoretical policy, but tactical survival skills tailored to your reality.
I. The Cost of Going Viral: Why Athletes Are Prime Targets
Athletes are perfect targets for cybercriminals because they’re:
High-profile: Everything is public—from salaries and sponsors to location check-ins and family names.
High-velocity: They move teams, change phones, switch accounts, and travel constantly.
Digitally overexposed: They rely on apps, Wi-Fi, emails, and DMs to manage brands, schedules, contracts, and even workouts.
Surrounded by soft targets: Friends, coaches, and family often act as untrained digital gatekeepers.
Unlike executives with trained staff and hardened networks, athletes are often navigating this alone—or worse, with bad advice. Threat actors know this. And they’re capitalizing on it.
II. Threats Athletes Face Today (with Real-World Tie-Ins)
Sextortion: Financial Blackmail and Emotional Coercion
What it looks like: Predators impersonate admirers, peers, or recruiters to build trust, solicit compromising content, and then extort minors for money or more explicit material. These threats can be lethal.
Real Example: ESPN recently reported on the case of Jordan DeMay, a high school athlete targeted in a devastating online sextortion scheme. Predators exploited his status as a promising athlete, building trust before blackmailing him. The FBI describes this as a growing trend: since 2021, online sextortion has accounted for tens of thousands of cases, over $65 million in financial losses, and more than three dozen suicides.
Risk: Offers of help or recruitment can quickly become coercive manipulation—athletes and families must be alert to emotionally sophisticated scams.
Financial Fraud
What it looks like: Phony investments, digitally forged contracts, payroll rerouting, or fake crypto/NFT schemes delivered via official-looking PDFs and email threads.
Real Example: In 2023, Dwight Howard lost $7 million after being lured into a fake WNBA ownership deal. He was presented with forged legal documents, fake SEC filings, and a fabricated transaction history—all sent digitally and timed with urgency.
Risk: Total financial loss. These scams often include wallet-draining smart contracts or payment schemes disguised as legitimate deals.
Cyberstalking & Location Exposure
What it looks like: Abusers are tracking athletes in real-time via Instagram stories, Snap Map, or even tagged posts from teammates or family.
Real Example: In 2025, Caitlin Clark was the target of a persistent cyberstalking campaign. A man used fake accounts and threats sent via DMs, tracking her movements to games and events. He was later sentenced.
Risk: Threats escalate from digital to physical. Also, it opens the door to swatting, extortion, and long-term emotional harm.
Device & Likeness Compromise
What it looks like: Athletes sign away their likeness or rights via misleading NIL contracts—sometimes unknowingly ceding control over digital assets or identity.
Real Example: Bloomberg Law has reported on multiple cases of college athletes being misled into signing NIL deals that legally strip them of their likeness rights or pose hidden liabilities. These deceptive agreements, often presented as routine sponsorships, have resulted in athletes being contractually bound in ways they didn’t fully understand.
Risk: You could lose control over your image, face future tax liabilities, or even legal exposure—without realizing it at the moment you click "Sign."
Social Engineering Through Inner Circles
What it looks like: Attackers leverage your trust network—coaches, family, or authority figures—to trick you into providing funds, credentials, or compromising information.
Real Example: The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) and Department of Emergency Services warned about a scam where callers pose as campus police and inform parents that their student athletes have received citations (e.g., curfew violations or trespassing). The scammer then demands immediate payment via CashApp, Venmo, or JPay to avoid legal consequences. The urgency, authority, and reliance on untraceable payment methods are classic social engineering tactics exploiting family anxiety.
Risk: Intense trust-based pressure, sudden financial loss, and legal or reputational fallout — all without any malicious technology, only human manipulation.
III. The Cyber Hygiene Playbook: What Athletes Should Do
Account Security
Use strong, unique passwords for all logins
Enable MFA on social, banking, and communications platforms
Audit old accounts or ghost email addresses linked to contracts or travel
Device Discipline
Don’t install any app from a QR code or DM
Keep business apps on a separate device from personal social media
Use VPNs on hotel or arena Wi-Fi, never public hotspots
Location & Visibility
Avoid posting your location in real time—especially flights, hotels, or events
Blur or crop backgrounds that reveal apartment numbers, gym names, etc.
Mute geotagging and review tagged photos regularly
Inner Circle Awareness
Hold a 15-minute cyber hygiene session with your agent, family, or trainer
Teach them to verify calls, ignore “urgent” DMs, and report anything unusual
Don't share credentials—even to “sponsors” or coaches—without verifying
Contract Handling
Always verify contract offers with a second set of eyes (legal or cybersecurity pro)
Beware of "sign now or lose it" pressure tactics.
Don’t click embedded links in PDF contracts—view them in a secure viewer first.
IV. When Things Go Wrong: Your Athlete Incident Checklist
If you suspect you’ve been targeted or compromised:
Lock down accounts immediately (change passwords, enable MFA)
Document all evidence: screenshots, messages, names, dates
Report the incident to team security, league legal, or university IT
Engage pros like Victory Cybersecurity Consulting to assess and mitigate
Control the narrative—leaks, screenshots, and “exposures” are often timed
V. Conclusion: Survival Is a Skillset
Cybercrime doesn’t care about your 40-yard dash, your shoe deal, or your endorsement portfolio. If you have digital value—and you do—you are a target.
But you don’t need to be paranoid. You need to be prepared.
Athletes spend hours in the film room, on the court, and in the gym. Spend 15 minutes here.
📢 Train your team. Vet your deals. Guard your trust.
Because in the digital age, trust is the easiest exploit.
Sources:
Conviction of Broad Financial Fraud in NBA Investment Scam
U.S. Department of Justice: Atlanta businessman convicted of defrauding former NBA players Dwight Howard and Chandler.
🔗 Read hereCyberstalking of WNBA Star Caitlin Clark
ESPN: Man pleads guilty, sentenced to prison for stalking and harassing Fever star Caitlin Clark.
🔗 Read hereHigh School Athlete Targeted in Sextortion Scheme
ESPN (High School): FBI reveals growing trend of online extortion targeting youth.
🔗 Read hereAthlete Likeness Contracts Gone Wrong
Bloomberg Law: College athletes deceived into signing away their likenesses.
🔗 Read hereCampus Police Impersonation Scam Against College Athletes’ Families
Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection: A new scam is targeting Connecticut college athletes and their families.
🔗 Read here