Digital Detectives

1. Digital Detectives Lesson 5: Spot the Scam

2. Introduction • Internet users are becoming increasingly vulnerable to digital scams where criminals often try to steal money or somebody’s identity using fraudulent emails, websites or other methods. • In this lesson you’ll be using your detective skills to identify and deal with some scams.

3. Objectives • Know that there are a huge number of internet/email scams • Understand that you need to critically examine the authenticity of digital communications • Be able to identify common features of digital scams, and be able to deal with them appropriately

4. Starter (5 mins) • Look at the two emails using CD Resources 5a and 5b. • Which one is real? • Which one is fake? • How do you know?

5. Last lesson, you looked at how sounds can be manipulated to mislead people or alter a message. • Today, you will use your detective skills to investigate a different kind of fraud: email scams.

6. Task 1 (10 mins) • Read Page 9 of your Student Book, down to and including Step 5.7. • Go to http://www.hoax-slayer.com/email-hoax-archive.html andfind an example of each of the following: • A phishing scam • A chain email • Scareware • A mobile phone scam

7. Task 2 (20 mins) • Now complete CD Resource 5c. • Your task is to spot which are obvious scams, and spot the clues that give them away. Save your document when you have finished!

8. Extension • Go to www.sonicwall.com/phishing • Try the IQ Test!

9. Plenary • Play the SpamSwatter game on the wiki – are YOU as smart as your email software?

10. Glossary Terms • Define the following terms in your ICT Dictionary: Scam Spyware Malware Trojan Identity Theft Scareware Chain Email Pop-up Authenticity Fraud