Materials and Preparation

• Paper and markers or colored pencils (or computers with Microsoft Office if you are using the high-tech option in Teach 3).

• Copy the Spotting Scams Student Handout, one for each student.

• Review the Spotting Scams Student Handout — Teacher Version.

Essential Question

What is identity theft, and how can you protect yourself from it?

Lesson Overview

Students learn strategies for guarding against identity theft and scams that try to access their private information online. They learn what identity theft is, what kinds of information identity thieves want, and what can be done with that information. Students then analyze phony emails and identify tricks that identity thieves use online. Finally, they create a phishing email that includes the features that they have learned about, and see if classmates can identify the scams.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to ...

• understand what identity theft is and why it is important to guard against it.

• learn to recognize strategies that scam artists use to access private information.

• learn how to guard against phishing and identity theft.

Key Vocabulary

scam: an attempt to trick someone, usually with the intention of stealing money or private information identity

theft: a type of crime in which your private information is stolen and used for criminal activity

vulnerable: in a position that makes it easier for you to be harmed or attacked

phishing: when people send you phony emails, pop-up messages, social media messages, texts, calls, or links to fake websites in order to hook you into giving out your personal and financial information

Warm-up (5 minutes)

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term scam.

ASK: Do you know someone who has been scammed? What happened?

What is the purpose of a scam? What tricks do people use to carry out a scam?

Can people get scammed on the Internet? How?

EXPLAIN to students that they will be learning about a variety of online scams, including which kinds of information scammers look for, and how that information can be used. They will also learn how to protect themselves against online scams.

What Is Identity Theft? (10 minutes)

POINT OUT to students that 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 Social Security cards, credit cards, or drivers’ licenses in someone else’s name.

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term identity theft.

ASK: Can you guess what kinds of personal information identity thieves might look for?

REVIEW the list below with students. Emphasize that identity thieves look for any information that might help them pretend to be their victims. Write the list on the board or have students take notes.

• Full name

• Date of birth and where you were born

• Current and previous addresses and phone numbers

• Driver’s license or passport number

• Account numbers and the companies where you hold accounts (e.g., Amazon, PayPal, etc.)

• Passwords

• Social Security number

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term vulnerable.

EXPLAIN that anyone is vulnerable to an online scam. Although teens might not think they’re at risk, there are a few important reasons why they are vulnerable to identity theft – and why it matters.

Cover the following points:

• Identity thieves look for “clean” Social Security numbers that haven’t yet been used to get credit. They target teens and kids, who often have Social Security numbers that have no credit history yet. Identity thieves might sell or use these numbers, which would allow someone else to get a credit card or loan and build up debt under your name.

• Being a victim of identity theft can ruin your financial future and your ability to obtain loans and purchase things. For example, it could affect your ability to get a student loan for college or a loan to buy a car.

• In addition, if you use your parents’ accounts and credit cards online, or fill out forms with your parents’ information, you are sharing information that could potentially put your parents’ identities at risk.

• It can take months, even years, to recover your identity if it’s stolen. Cleaning up such a mess takes a lot of time and energy, and it can also be expensive.

How to Catch a Phish (15 minutes)

ASK: How do you think identity thieves might try to get your information?

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term phishing.

EXPLAIN to students that the best way to avoid phishing scams is to be skeptical about any online request for personal information. It’s also good to be skeptical of online messages or posts from friends that seem out of character for them, which is a warning sign that their accounts have been hacked. There are clues that can help students spot phishing, and they will learn some of these in the next part of the lesson by studying one type of phishing scam: a phony email message.

DIVIDE students into pairs.

DISTRIBUTE the Spotting Scams Student Handout, one per student.

READ aloud the instructions found on the Spotting Scams Student Handout – Teacher Version, and share with students the extended explanation of each feature of a phishing email.

INSTRUCT student pairs to complete the handout together. When students are done, have two pairs get together to exchange their handouts and compare their answers.

INVITE volunteers to share their answers with the class. Use the Spotting Scams Student Handout – Teacher Version for guidance.

REMIND students that phishing emails can be very convincing, and some may not contain many of the clues they just learned about. So it’s smart to distrust any email that asks them to provide private information.

Protect Yourself from Online Scams (10 minutes)

TELL students that if they ever encounter something online that they believe might be a phishing scam, they should observe the following rules:

• Avoid opening the message or email in the first place.

• Don’t click on any links or download any attachments. They might contain viruses or spyware.

• Don’t reply.

• Mark as “junk mail” or “spam” for your email provider, or report it to your social network site.

• If you are concerned about an account you have with a company, contact its customer service by phone. Make sure you verify the company’s contact information elsewhere online first.

TELL students that they can also protect themselves from Internet scams by learning how identity thieves think. They will create a phishing email, or some other form of online or mobile scam, using what they learned about phishing scams.

INSTRUCT students to choose at least four of the eight features of a phishing email listed in their Spotting Scams Student Handout. Have them create a phishing email that demonstrates the four features they choose to highlight.

INVITE students to present their examples to the class. Classmates can try to identify which features tipped them off to the fact that this is a phishing email. Alternatively, students can trade examples with a partner and try to spot each other’s scam.

Wrap-up (5 minutes)

You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives. You may want to ask students to reflect in writing on one of the questions, using a journal or an online blog/wiki.

ASK: What kinds of information do identity thieves look for? Why?

How do thieves try to get at your information?

What can you do to avoid falling for online scams?

WRITE the following URL and email address below on the board. Tell students that they can go to www.ftc.gov/idtheft for help if they, or their parents, find their identities have been stolen. Students can also forward any spam emails they receive to spam@uce.gov