Scams: Warnings and advice
Consumer Education
Scams – Warnings and Advice about scams
Activity researching sources of support or advice about scams and developing knowledge, skills and understanding to advise and support victims of scams. Includes essential information, scenarios to advise on and how to take action.
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Scams: Warnings and advice. Ready to go pack
This document provides two activities to use with learners/ participants/ service users; the material has been written to include education focuses on literacy, numeracy, functional skills and English for speakers of other languages within a formal education setting. However if you wish to use the activities within an informal group or as part of an awareness raising campaign you will only need p7 onwards of this document.
Learning resources are not designed for tutors/ educators to advise their participants on specific cases; where necessary participants should be directed to the appropriate advice agency.
|Unit/Activity name |Unit/ Activity focus |Consumer education objectives |Literacy, language and numeracy |Literacy curriculum|ESOL curriculum |Numeracy curriculum |Functional skills |
| | | |objectives |refs |refs |refs |standards |
|Unit 2 Essential |Read and understand key |Develop knowledge and understanding |Trace and understand explanatory |Rt/L1.3 |Rt/L1.3a | |Reading L1 |
|information |information |about recognising, rejecting and |texts | | | | |
| | |reporting scams and where to seek | | | | | |
| | |advice and support | | | | | |
|RESOURCES AND PREPARATION |
|Before the session: |
|Scams: Unit 2 Warnings and advice: one double sided for each learner (clarify re A and B) |
|LITERACY AND LANGUAGE FOCUS |
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE
• Set the context by explaining to learners that they are going to practice giving warnings and advice to victims, or potential victims, of scams. Ask them what sort of support they would find helpful from friends or family if they were worried about something like a scam. Build up a short checklist of good practice for people offering support and advice on the board, e.g.
|( |
|Listen first |
|Ask questions |
|Put yourself in the other person’s shoes |
|Try and work out some solutions together |
|Ask whether your suggestions or advice would be helpful |
|Think about the consequences of your suggestions and advice before you give it |
|Do not insist that your advice or suggestions are best |
• Highlight the following:
– Good listening skills are an essential part of all good communication. Let the speaker describe the situation first.
– Ask questions about what happened, how the person feels and what they think is the best course of action.
– Empathise with the other person – let them know that you can imagine how they are feeling.
– Giving your own opinions, advice or suggestions when they have not been asked for can be unwelcome, intrusive and disrespectful. It can make the other person feel as if you think they cannot resolve their own problems.
– Even if you have strong feelings about what is or isn’t the right course of action, do not insist that your advice or suggestions are best. The other person needs to decide what is the best decision or course of action for themselves.
• Elicit some possible structures for giving warnings, suggestions and advice on the board, e.g.
Warnings
– This sounds like ………….
– Apparently ……..
– I heard/ read that …………………
Suggestions/ advice
– Have you thought about ………ing …….?
– You could try …………………..ing……...
– How about ……..ing………?
– If I were you, I’d ……….
|OPTIONAL LANGUAGE FOCUS: |
|ESOL learners may find target structures for each of the good practice steps helpful. Give an example problem and elicit responses for |
|each stage. Follow up with some controlled practice, e.g. |
|Listen first |
|Hmmmm. I see. Oh really? etc. |
| |
|Ask questions |
|How |
|When did you/ he/ they ………….? |
|What |
| |
|Put yourself in the other person’s shoes |
|That must feel…………………….. |
|be ……………………... |
| |
|Try and work out some solutions together |
|think |
|Shall we try …………? |
|Brainstorm |
| |
|Ask whether your suggestions or advice would be helpful |
|Would you find …………………..helpful? |
| |
|Think about the consequences of your suggestions and advice before you give it |
|This sounds like …………. |
|Apparently …….. |
|I heard/read that ………………… |
|Have you thought about ………ing …….? |
|You could try …………………..ing……... |
|How about ……..ing………? |
|If I were you, I’d ……. |
| |
|Do not insist that your advice or suggestions are best |
|Never advise your student/ participant – direct them to the appropriate advice agency |
|I’m sure you’ll………………………. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
• Divide learners into pairs. Give each learner a copy of Scams: Unit 2 Warnings and advice. Explain that the learners need to work together in their pairs. Explain that the task is to take each scam and write a warning and some advice or a suggestion for each one. Tell learners to use the good practice and example structures to help them. They will need to change the text for each scam from the third person to the second person. Do an example together, e.g.
Prize draw scams: Scammers tell people that they have won money in a prize draw. They say they want money in advance before they can give them their prize.
Warning: This sounds like a prize draw scam. I heard that scammers tell you that you have won money in a prize draw. They say they want money in advance before they can give you your prize. You may have to call a premium rate number or pay a fee in advance. You have little chance of winning anything.
Advice: If I were you, I’d bin it. Have you thought about reporting it to Action Fraud?
|Ideas for support and differentiation |
|You can share the scams between pairs so that learners work on a few scams each. They can then show each other their ideas. |
|Learners can then be asked to finish the write up for each scam for homework. |
• Finish this activity by asking learners to recap on what they have learned about giving warnings and advice. Tell them they will now be able to practice this more using message boards and/ or role plays.
Warning and Advice activity
Imagine you are trying to help a friend. Use the information about each scam to help you write a warning and some advice for each one, e.g.
|Information |Warnings and advice |
|Pyramid selling and chain gift schemes: Victims pay to join a |This sounds like a pyramid scheme. |
|scheme then they have to recruit more people. They are told |Apparently you pay to join and then you have to recruit more |
|they will make a lot of money or get an expensive gift when |people. You’re told you’ll make a lot of money when enough |
|enough people join. Victims hardly ever get any money because |people join, but victims hardly ever get anything because |
|the scammers disappear with it or the scheme collapses as |pyramid schemes always collapse. |
|there aren’t enough new recruits. |Have you thought about phoning Action Fraud? They’ll give you |
| |some good advice. |
|Information |Warnings and advice |
|Clairvoyant and psychic scam mailings: Scammers send a letter | |
|promising to make predictions about your future. You have to | |
|pay a fee first. If victims send money, they will get little | |
|or nothing back. Worse, they will probably be a target for | |
|other scams as their name will be added to a ‘suckers list’. | |
|Information |Warnings and advice |
|Prize draw scams: Scammers tell people that they have won a | |
|prize draw that they didn’t enter. They contact you by post, | |
|email, phone or text and you are told to respond quickly. | |
|Victims may have to call a premium rate number or pay a fee in| |
|advance. They have little chance of winning anything. | |
|Information |Warnings and advice |
|Homeworking scams: Scammers put ads in newspapers, in shop | |
|windows or on lampposts promising a large income for working | |
|from home. Victims have to pay a fee before they can start | |
|work. You’re unlikely to be paid for the work that you do, or | |
|the job may actually be signing up other people to the scam | |
|Information |Warnings and advice |
|Miracle cure/slimming: Scammers sell products which they claim| |
|cure health problems. You might see an ad or website or get a | |
|letter or email with exaggerated claims. The products may be | |
|harmful and it is unlikely they will work as promised. | |
|Information |Warnings and advice |
|Bogus holiday clubs: Scammers tell victims they have won a | |
|free holiday. Victims have to go to a presentation before they| |
|can collect their prize. Victims are pressured to join a | |
|holiday club. If they join, the holidays will not be as | |
|described. If victims don’t join they will have to pay towards| |
|the ‘free’ holiday. | |
|Information |Warnings and advice |
|Scam ticketing websites: Scammers advertise tickets on | |
|websites even when tickets have already sold out or haven’t | |
|gone on sale yet. If victims pay they do not receive any | |
|tickets and they lose their money. | |
Scams – Essential information
Scams are illegal and as a scam victim you have very few rights or legal protection. Although different scams use different strategies, here are some warning signs to watch out for.
|Scams may |Warning signs |
|… catch you unawares |You receive an offer that you didn’t request |
|… use a ‘personal touch’ to give you |Sound pleasant, well-spoken and kind |
|the impression that the offer is |Repeated use of your name |
|exclusive to you |Repeated use of names or information from someone who appears to be in authority |
| |May claim that you - and only you - have won the top prize |
|… stress the need to ‘act soon’ hoping |Artificial deadlines that create a sense of urgency |
|you will make a decision without |Being pressurised to make a decision immediately |
|checking the details |Create an impression that if you don’t act soon the opportunity will be lost forever |
| |A persistent or aggressive salesperson |
|… look professional |Have a slick and professional look e.g. on leaflets, letters, adverts and websites |
| |Look or sound like it is being made by a trustworthy official organisation or |
| |well-known business with a good reputation. |
|… appeal to your desire to take a risk |Ask for small amounts of money in comparison to the prize or benefit |
|… appeal to your basic human desires, |There is a big prize or big benefits, e.g. |
|needs and fears |something that is life changing such as miracle health or slimming cure |
| |unbelievable business opportunity |
| |an amazing prize in a competition that the person does not remember entering |
| |Being told that something bad might happen if you don’t comply |
Taking action against scams
Always check a person or business out if:
• you are asked to invest or send money up front
• you get an unexpected call, letter, text or email from someone you don’t know asking you to sign up for something
• you are asked to give personal information or bank account details
• it sounds too good to be true!
If you have any suspicions that something may be a scam:
• don’t give any personal or account details
• don’t send or give any money
• put the phone down, destroy the letter, delete the text or email
• get advice from Action Fraud by visiting actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040
• discuss it with family and friends
• report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040
If in doubt – always check it out with the sources in the box below.
|Sources of help and advice |
|To report fraud, forward scam emails or get advice, visit actionfraud.police.uk or call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 |
|Check the status of a company with Companies House at .uk or on 0303 1234 500 (national call rate). |
|Citizens Advice - .uk can provide information on different scams, offer advice on how to deal with scams. |
|You can also arrange to visit your local Citizens Advice Bureaux for further information/ advice. |
|Check the status of a charity with the charity Commission at charity-.uk/ or by calling 0845 300 0 218. |
|Discuss it with your friends and family. |
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