7 - SCAMS AND IDENTIFY THEFT
Warm up (Workbook)
1. Do you know anyone who has been scammed online? What happened?
2. What information do you think a scammer wants?
Why would anyone want to scam you?
The simple answer is that people who scam you want to make money at your expense. According to CommonSense Media,
"People who scam others online don’t always have to get money from them directly. Instead, they use a
variety of strategies to trick people into giving out private information. They then use this information to
access their bank and credit card accounts or other personal accounts. They can even “re-create”
someone’s identity and produce false documents, such as credit cards, or drivers’ licenses."
- Scams and Schemes
So even though some may ask you directly for money or information, others may use your information to pretend they are you to get what they want. This is called identify theft and it can cause big problems. Having someone steal your identity can cause big problems. For example, it can stop you from being able to rent an apartment, buy a house or get a student loan or credit card.
The best way to protect yourself against scams and identity theft is to observe carefully, listen to your common sense, and look for common scamming clues. It's also important to know what personal information of yours could be used. Here are examples of information scammers will try to get from you:
1. Do you know anyone who has been scammed online? What happened?
2. What information do you think a scammer wants?
Why would anyone want to scam you?
The simple answer is that people who scam you want to make money at your expense. According to CommonSense Media,
"People who scam others online don’t always have to get money from them directly. Instead, they use a
variety of strategies to trick people into giving out private information. They then use this information to
access their bank and credit card accounts or other personal accounts. They can even “re-create”
someone’s identity and produce false documents, such as credit cards, or drivers’ licenses."
- Scams and Schemes
So even though some may ask you directly for money or information, others may use your information to pretend they are you to get what they want. This is called identify theft and it can cause big problems. Having someone steal your identity can cause big problems. For example, it can stop you from being able to rent an apartment, buy a house or get a student loan or credit card.
The best way to protect yourself against scams and identity theft is to observe carefully, listen to your common sense, and look for common scamming clues. It's also important to know what personal information of yours could be used. Here are examples of information scammers will try to get from you:
- your full name
- your date of birth and where you were born - bank account or credit card numbers - address and phone numbers |
- account information (logins and passwords)
- driver's licence number - passport number - Social Insurance Number |
Email scams (also called phishing) are especially common. Here are some of the clues that can help you identify them - EMAIL SCAM CLUES.PDF
Practice - What clues can you find in the email below?
Practice - What clues can you find in the email below?
Activity - EMAIL SCAMS
STEP 1 - Open a NEW Smart Notebook Document. Save it as CLASS NAME EMAIL SCAMS.
STEP 2 - Open this EMAIL SCAMS.PDF
STEP 3 - Read the three example emails.
- Take a picture of each email with your CAMERA capture tool. (One email per Smart Notebook page)
- Use tools from Smart Notebook (for ex: highlighter, circles, arrows) to show the clues that you find
in each email example. The types of clues are listed on the last page to help you!
Email 1 - find 5 clues Email 2 - find 4 clues Email 3 - find 3 clues