Answer: Gen Z

Questions:

• Why do you think that young people are seeing faster growth in online scams? 
• Have you seen any examples of online scams? How could you tell they were scams? 
• What advice would you give to your peers to avoid being scammed online? 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (CNBC):

Here are some common scams that target teens or young adults and how to avoid them, per Social Catfish:

• Job scams: Be wary of any job that seems too good to be true, or asks you to pay money for training. Never provide any personal information without investigating the company thoroughly.
• Online influencer scams: These involve creating fake social media accounts that mimic the influencer, hold a contest and then ask the “winner” to pay a fee or provide their bank account number to get their prize. Never send money or bank information to anyone you do not know.
• Online shopping scams: This fraud arises from a website created to look like a legitimate online store selling items at a huge discount. However, the item you ordered never arrives and the fraudsters have your credit card and personal information.Red flags that a site is fake include a high frequency of typos or a customer service email that looks like a personal one (e.g.,, ends in gmail.com). Additionally, be sure to research the company if the deals look too good to be real.
• Romance scams: These fraudsters end up winning a person’s heart and then try to get the victim’s money, as well. If the person will not video chat or meet in person, that’s a huge warning sign.

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Here's a few activities to help students avoid these scams:

• COMPARE: Types of Identity Theft (Sp)
• PROJECT: Launch an ID Theft Awareness Campaign

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With the holidays approaching, this FinCap Friday is particularly timely: 

• Tis The Season of Scammers 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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