I’ve been trying to keep an eye on my kid’s texts without spending anything, but every free method I find seems like a scam or requires tech skills I don’t have. Has anyone actually pulled this off for free, or are all those clone apps just traps?
Yeah those “clone a phone” apps are basically 100% scam bait - they either want your credit card “just to verify” or they’re harvesting your info. 
Honestly for free and legit, just check your carrier’s family plan dashboard (T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T all have free parental controls built in), or if it’s an iPhone use Screen Time through your shared Apple ID - you can see a ton right there without installing anything sketchy. Android kids can be set up through Google Family Link which is also completely free and actually works pretty well for basic monitoring.