Scams & Identity Theft Lesson
Spot the Scam Activity · Financial Literacy
- Grades
- Grades 7–12
- Formats
- Google Slides, PDF, PowerPoint
- Pages
- 25
- Answer keys
- Included
Opens our store on Teachers Pay Teachers, where you can see the full preview and buy.
Teach teens to spot scams before they lose money or their identity! In this scams and identity theft lesson, students learn how phishing, smishing, fake job offers, marketplace scams, crypto schemes, romance scams and "grandparent" calls work, then practice on 16 realistic (and completely fictional) texts, emails and DMs in a Spot the Scam activity.
What's included
- Teacher guide with 4-day pacing, materials and differentiation (support, on level, challenge)
- Standards page (Jump$tart Managing Risk, ISTE Digital Citizen, CASEL, Common Core reading)
- 3 pages of guided notes: Scams 101, 8 common scams, protecting your info and what to do if scammed
- Red Flag Field Guide: 10 red flags with examples (student reference page)
- 16 Scam or Legit? message cards drawn as realistic texts, emails, DMs, a voicemail and a social post, each with a context clue
- Recording sheet for the card sort
- Red-flag annotation: mark up a phishing email
- 4 case studies: fake check, fake job, grandparent call and identity theft after a data breach
- Identity Toolkit match (fraud alert, credit freeze, IdentityTheft.gov and more) + What Would You Do? scenarios
- Scam Alert PSA poster project with planning page, 20-point rubric and gallery walk feedback
- 2-page quiz (multiple choice + short answer)
- Complete answer keys for every page
How to use it
Use it over 3-4 class periods in financial literacy, personal finance, digital citizenship, computer applications, advisory or homeroom. The card sort works in pairs or small groups, and the case studies make great discussion starters. Print and go.
Skills practiced
Recognizing red flagsphishing and smishingprotecting personal informationtwo-factor authenticationfraud alerts and credit freezesreporting fraudpersuasive design
