Digital Defender

In 2024, Tejasvi Manoj’s grandpa got an email. It was from someone pretending to be in his family. The person needed $2,000. Luckily, Tejasvi’s grandpa contacted her dad. He called the relative to see if the email was real. The response: “I never asked you for money.” The senior had nearly fallen for a cybercrime.

Tejasvi, then 16, was angry. She began researching how common these scams are. Very common, it turns out. People over 60 were targeted for $5 billion by online scammers in 2024. That’s what the Federal Trade Commission says.

Now 17, Tejasvi has launched a website called Shield Seniors. She has been named the 2025 TIME Kid of the Year for her work.

Tejasvi Manoj is TIME’s Kid of the Year. She is being honored for helping older people avoid scams.

Fighting Back

Shield Seniors educates people 60 and older about online scams. It analyzes emails that users share. If these are scams, the site provides links for reporting them.

Tejasvi gives seminars at assisted living facilities. She teaches seniors about cybercrime. And she demonstrates her website.

Tejasvi leads a seminar at a senior center. The subject is cybersecurity. Tejasvi helps seniors learn digital literacy.

Tejasvi remembers her first seminar. She was nervous that no one would come. But many residents were interested. “Some of them came up to me with questions,” she says. “I was able to help them.”

Coding the Future

Tejasvi used her coding skills to build Shield Seniors. “I really love the fact that you can solve problems with your computer,” she says.

Tejasvi presents Shield Seniors at the Texas High School Ideas Challenge, in April.

Tejasvi is looking ahead. She wants to study computer science in college. And she’s raising money. It will let her expand and improve Shield Seniors.