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      How can we protect ourselves from fraud?

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can explain what fraud is, how to prevent fraud online and how to protect myself from scams.

      Key learning points

      1. Fraud is deception for financial gain, often through scams that steal money or personal information.
      2. Awareness of phishing, pharming, APP fraud and cryptocurrency fraud help protect financial security.
      3. Action Fraud and banks have teams to investigate fraud and support victims.
      4. Government campaigns like 'Stop! Think Fraud' educate the public on fraud prevention.
      5. Avoiding suspicious links, verifying payment sites and protecting financial details help prevent fraud.

      Keywords

      • Fraud - when someone acts, lies or breaks trust to gain money or cause a loss; it's a broad term that covers different types of crimes; fraud can happen online, in person, or through letters or messages

      • Scam - a dishonest scheme designed to trick people into giving away money, personal information or valuables

      Common misconception

      When a bank phones you they will ask you to tell them all of your personal details.

      Your bank will only ever ask you to disclose some of your personal details, never all of them. If you are asked for all of your details, it is a scam.

      Teacher tip

      Share some examples of recent scams, both online and via phone, to show pupils what to watch out for in their everyday lives. This will demonstrate how widespread scamming is and will teach pupils popular scams that they might encounter.

      Content guidance

      Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

      Depiction or discussion of serious crime

      Supervision

      Adult supervision required

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      What can borrowing money through credit cards lead to?

      no extra costs
      free rewards
      Correct answer: high interest rates

      Q2.
      Governments might need to borrow money if their expenditure is more than their ...

      budget
      Correct answer: income
      salary

      Q3.
      Which type of card allows you to spend directly from your bank account?

      credit card
      membership card
      Correct answer: debit card

      Q4.
      Match the words to the correct definition.

      Correct Answer:bank account ,a secure place to store, manage and access money
      Correct Answer:interest,the extra money you have to pay when you borrow money, as a fee
      Correct Answer:overdraft,when you spend more money than you have from your bank account
      Correct Answer:loan,a sum of money you receive and agree to pay back with interest

      Q5.
      Forms of borrowing include short- and long-term loans, overdrafts and unions.

      Correct Answer: credit

      Q6.
      Which is not a financially responsible reason to borrow money?

      buy a house
      attend university
      Correct answer: buy a new game

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Which of the following is the purpose of Action Fraud?

      to give away free gifts
      to sell financial products
      Correct answer: to investigate fraud
      Correct answer: to support fraud victims

      Q2.
      Government campaigns like 'Stop! Think ' educate the public on fraud prevention.

      Correct Answer: fraud

      Q3.
      What is a scam?

      Correct answer: a dishonest scheme
      a form of entertainment
      a fun game

      Q4.
      Match the words to their correct definition.

      Correct Answer:fraud,someone acts, lies or breaks trust to gain money or cause a loss
      Correct Answer:phishing,attempt to get sensitive information by pretending to be trustworthy
      Correct Answer:pharming,redirecting users from a legitimate website to a fraudulent one

      Q5.
      Awareness of phishing, pharming, APP fraud and __________ fraud helps protect financial security.

      cyber
      Correct answer: cryptocurrency
      identity
      financial

      Q6.
      When a bank phones you they will ask you to tell them __________ of your personal details.

      all
      Correct answer: some
      none

      To help you plan your 9 citizenship lesson on: How can we protect ourselves from fraud?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...