HELP: know exactly what to do
HELP is a free 10-minute guide for teenagers aged 14 to 18 that shows what to do and who to call in Romania when something goes wrong online. Choose what is happening, from blackmail with photos to a hacked account, and see the first steps, the evidence to keep, the right helpline and what to avoid. Then build a message that warns your family about voice-clone scams, and test yourself: do you know who to call?
- About 10 minutes
- 9 situations, 12 contacts
- Quick check out of 100
- Nothing saved or sent
About HELP: what to do and who to call when something goes wrong online
HELP is a free interactive guide created by Nicholas Carstoiu (Nicholas Cârstoiu) as Module 05 of TRUST // NO TRUST, a digital resilience platform for teenagers. It is the bridge between what you learn in the other modules and the real services in Romania that can help: emergency services, child protection, helplines for teenagers, the national cyber security directorate and the agency against human trafficking.
What does HELP cover?
Nine situations teenagers actually face: blackmail with intimate images, an intimate photo shared without consent, cyberbullying, a photo posted without asking, a hacked account, an online scam, a stranger who asks for secrets or a meeting, a deepfake and illegal content involving children. For each one you see what to do right now, which evidence to keep (and which never to download), who can help and what to avoid.
What should you do when something goes wrong online?
What should you do after an online scam?
Stop replying and do not send any more money or personal data. Call your bank straight away to block the card, keep screenshots, links and payment details, change any password you typed on the fake page and report it to DNSC on 1911 and to the police.
What should you do if your account is hacked?
Use the platform's official recovery page, change the password of your e-mail first and then of the account, turn on two-step verification, log out unknown devices and warn your friends that messages from your account are not from you.
What should you do about cyberbullying?
Do not reply in anger. Keep screenshots with names, dates and links, block and report the accounts and tell an adult you trust. Telefonul Copilului (116 111) and the Ora de Net helpline can listen; if there are threats of violence, call 112.
What should you do if someone threatens to share intimate images?
Do not pay and do not send anything else. Keep screenshots of the threats and the profile, but never download or forward the images themselves, tell an adult you trust and call 119, or 112 if you are in danger. Take It Down can help stop images taken before you were 18 from spreading.
What should you do if someone online asks for secrets, gifts or a meeting?
Too much attention, promises and pressure to keep things secret are warning signs. Do not go to a meeting alone and do not keep it secret, and never send photos, documents or money to “prove” anything. Show the whole conversation to an adult you trust and call 119. If there is a promise of a job, a trip or money, ANITP can help too, and if you feel in danger, call 112.
What should you do about a deepfake of you or a classmate?
Do not share it, not even to ask whether it looks real, and do not comment or react. Keep the link, the account that posted it and a screenshot, report it on the platform and tell an adult you trust or your form teacher. If it is sexual, do not download it: report it straight away to esc_ABUZ, the reporting line of Salvați Copiii, and call 119.
Why a message for your family?
Voice-clone scams target parents and grandparents with a call that sounds like their child in trouble. HELP builds a short warning message in English, Romanian or French that you send yourself, and reminds you to agree on a family code word face to face. The platform never sends or stores the message.
Who is it for?
HELP is designed for teenagers aged 14 to 18, and works for parents and teachers too. It takes about 10 minutes and ends with a seven-question check out of 100.
Who made HELP?
HELP was created by Nicholas Carstoiu and is developed with the TRUST // NO TRUST team from the Romanian-Finnish High School in Bucharest: Ana Marinescu (concept validation, testing and UX), Nil Gonencer (marketing and communication) and Eva Obretin (design and translation), coordinated by Prof. Gabriela-Amalia Grigore.
Official sources
Every number and link in HELP was checked against the official source of the service in October 2026. Opening hours and contact details can change, so check the current information below; in an emergency, call 112.
- 112: Romanian emergency number (STS)
- 119: national number for children, ANPDCA (official public services listing)
- 116 111: Telefonul Copilului, how it works
- Ora de Net helpline, Salvați Copiii
- esc_ABUZ reporting line, Salvați Copiii
- ANITP, National Agency against Trafficking in Persons: contact
- DNSC, National Cyber Security Directorate (1911)
- Take It Down, NCMEC
- ANSPDCP, Romanian data protection authority
HELP brings together what you practised in SURVIVE, a simulated week online, HUNT, an online scam investigation, TRAP, on spotting manipulation and the loverboy method and REAL / FAKE / AI, on telling real images from AI fakes.
Questions and answers
Is HELP a game?
Only the last part. HELP is mainly a guide: you choose a real situation and see what to do and who can help. The quick check at the end gives you a score out of 100 so you can see whether you remember who to call.
Are the phone numbers real?
Yes. Every number and link was checked against the official source of the service in October 2026. Opening hours can change, so in an emergency always call 112, which is free and works non-stop.
Does the platform send my family message?
No. You build the message on the page and send it yourself, from your own phone. The platform never sends, saves or reads it, and it asks you to agree on the family code word face to face, not in writing.
What should I do if someone threatens to share my intimate photos?
Stop replying, do not pay and do not send anything else. Keep screenshots of the threats and the profile, tell an adult you trust, report the account and call 119 or, if you are in danger, 112. Take It Down can help stop images taken before you were 18 from spreading.
