Q3 Scams

Introduction   

In this Quest, you will have fun learning about common scams. Learn how to protect yourself, family, friends, and pets. Outsmart the scammers!

I Can Statements

• be a responsible online consumer
• protect myself from online scams and rip-offs

Key Vocabulary

Infographic: A visual image such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data.

Phishing: The fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

Scam: A scheme or offer that is dishonest.

Play the Vocabulary Game below to practice the Key Vocabulary. 

Steps

If you are on the Internet at some point you are going to run across one of the examples from the video you watched at the beginning of this Quest. The important thing is to be aware of scams and not fall for them. 

1. The first scam on the video you may have learned about if you did Thing 8 Troubleshooting and completed Quest 3. Scammers will try to get you to click on a link or a pop-up message that appears on your computer, a website, or email to access your computer.  As the video said, Microsoft and Apple will not contact you to install internet security on your computer. If you do click on the link, most likely you will receive a virus and your computer will not work appropriately. 

2. If you have an email or a social media account you are going to receive different types of scams that you need to be aware of and avoid. If you receive a suspicious email it is best not to even open it and just permanently delete it. 

3. If you have a Google account or other email provider, they do try to filter suspicious emails that have been sent to you and send them to your spam folder which is emptied every 30 days. There are emails though that don't make it through the spam filter and they will appear in your email. These emails are usually trying to access your private information or convince you to send money. These are called phishing scams.

Phishing scams typically:

• Ask you to verify your account
• Makes it seem urgent
• There are spelling errors in the message
• They alert you that your account is in trouble
• They want you to download an attachment or click on a link
• They are telling you about an offer that is too good to be true

4. Watch this video Stay Safe from Phishing and Scams. 

5. There are some things you should never put in an email unless you absolutely know that the email is legitimate. 

• Share private information about yourself such as your full name, address, date of birth, account numbers, and passwords. 

6. If you receive a suspicious email do not click on any links in the email, open attachments, and report the email as spam to your provider. Spam emails can also be forwarded to spam@uce.gov.

7. Here is an article titled, Does this Email Look Phishy? with examples of phishing emails. Read the article and discuss the examples as a class. 

8. Watch this video How to Spot a Scam Email. This video takes you step-by-step through the process of determining if the email is a scam or not. 

9. Use this Scams Spotting Email Assignment Handout and work alone or with a partner and identify all the red flags that indicate the email is fraudulent and is a scam. 

10. Based on what you learned in Quest Two about advertising and this one about scams, work in a small group to create your own scam. Create a poster (infographic, drawing, or as suggested by your teacher) to advertise your scam to your classmates.

11. Present your scam to the class for feedback for a vote on the best scam.

Completing this Quest

When you are done with this Quest, review the I Can Statements, share the assignment with your teacher and save a copy for your digital portfolio.

Check off this Quest on the 21t4s roadmap 

I have completed this Quest and I am ready to tackle Quest 4