The initiative Bee Secure is committed to making the internet a safer place. The service not only explains how to avoid falling victim to scams but also offers advice and support when something has already gone wrong.
However, scams are not the only risks online. Radicalisation is another growing danger, particularly among young people. To better understand these risks and how to handle them, RTL spoke with Igor Loran from Bee Secure.
Radicalisation takes many forms. It can be religious or political, but it can also relate to gender roles and stereotypes.
One example is the ‘Manosphere’, an online environment that spreads strongly misogynistic content and where, according to Loran, young men are especially vulnerable to radicalisation. He also points out that there are radical movements on the feminist side.
Members of the Manosphere and the so-called ‘Incel’ community often want to revive a patriarchal, male-dominated worldview, putting strength and dominance at the centre while rejecting women’s rights and LGBTQI+ communities.
“This type of content attracts a lot of people,” says Loran, “especially teenagers and young men.”
Within these spaces, young men are sometimes offered costly online courses that claim to teach them the right way to interact with women or promise a fast path to wealth.
One example is Andrew Tate’s Hustlers University, created by the controversial Manosphere influencer who is currently under investigation in several countries. “This is nothing more than financial fraud,” Loran warns.
That said, radicalisation usually does not happen in obviously open spaces such as social media. “Most of the interaction happens where there is no moderation,” Loran says, pointing to special forums, messaging platforms such as Telegram, and the darknet.
“People who become radicalised tend to fall into a spiral of similar content, which often leaves them isolated. If they communicate at all, it is usually with others who reinforce their beliefs,” Loran explains.
Given that this process usually happens in secret, it often takes a long time before others notice – by then, the damage may already be done.
Apart from radicalisation, young internet users face many other dangers, such as exposure to sexualised content. What can parents do?
“Education shouldn’t be left to chance,” Loran stresses. Teenagers need a stable point of contact with whom they can have open and honest conversations.
When there is no proper guidance and parents are perceived only as disciplinarians, children are more likely to keep their worries to themselves. This applies not only to teenagers at risk of radicalisation but also to those who are bullied at school or fall victim to sextortion when young people are blackmailed with intimate images.
Loran has seen such cases first-hand, where some children have transferred money to scammers because they felt they had no-one they could turn to for help, out of shame and fear of punishment.
The Bee Secure expert advises parents to address online risks proactively and often earlier than expected, since children are spending more time online and at younger ages.
According to the Bee Radar 2025 survey, 43% of young people aged 12–17 say that people their age often or very often visit websites containing pornographic content. Among those aged 12–16, 24% say young people sometimes send intimate photos of themselves, 9% say they often do, and another 9% report it happens very often.
Importantly, when having such conversations with children, it’s important to refrain from being confrontational. “It is about starting a dialogue, not delivering a lecture,” stresses Loran.
Resources on how to have these conversations are available through Bee Secure’s parent evenings and expert panels. However, Loran notes that these events often attract parents who are already informed and engaged, which means the families most at risk are not always reached.
Loran also warns against demonising the internet, with screen time not necessarily being the worst. Instead, what matters is how young people use their time online. After all, the internet can also be a valuable way to learn new things and explore the world.
Finally, parents should set an example. “If you tell your children to put their phones away but keep scrolling yourself, you will not be taken seriously,” Loran concludes.
Online security (1): How to protect against the most common online scams
Online security (2): What is the dark web, are scams becoming more common, and can victims get their money back?
Online security (3): Everything you need to know about love scams, grooming, and sextortion
