Learning aim
Pupils can identify five common modern scams targeting teenagers, apply a three-step response (STOP, CHECK, REPORT), and know where to report a suspected scam.
National Curriculum links
- PSHE Association KS4 L22: about online safety related to financial transactions
- PSHE Association KS4 L20: about debt and financial risks
- Computing KS4: identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact
- Citizenship KS4: consumer rights, fraud, and access to advice
What you'll need
- Real-style scam examples on slides: WhatsApp parent scam, marketplace scam, fake job offer, romance scam, AI voice clip
- "Spot the scam" worksheet (8 mixed examples)
- "Where to report" reference card (Action Fraud, banks, schools)
- Mini-whiteboards
Lesson structure (60 minutes)
HOOK
TEACH
GUIDED
CHALLENGE
PLENARY
Adapting for all learners
Support (working below ARE)
Use 4 examples instead of 8. Pre-mark scam vs real; pupils explain WHY rather than identifying scam vs real. Focus on the three-rule framework.
Stretch (working above ARE)
Pupils design a "scam awareness poster" for the school corridor covering all five scam types and the three rules. Include a real recent UK scam statistic (from the UK Finance or Action Fraud website).
SEND adaptations
For pupils with autism: provide clear, literal "if X happens, do Y" decision rules rather than situational judgement. For pupils with anxiety: emphasise that most online activity is safe — this lesson is preparation, not paranoia. For pupils with EAL or limited literacy: use the visual scam examples rather than text-heavy.
EAL support
Vocabulary: "scam", "phishing", "fraud", "report", "Action Fraud", "warning sign", "suspicious", "urgency". Sentence frame: "This is a scam because ___. I will report it to ___."
Assessment criteria
Pupils can: (1) name three common modern scams; (2) identify a scam in a given real-style example; (3) name the three response rules (STOP, CHECK, REPORT); (4) name two organisations to report a scam to (Action Fraud, the bank).
Homework pack
Four high-stakes activities about avoiding teen-targeted scams. ~25 minutes.
Scam types
What pupils do: Research 5 different scam types that target teens: phishing, money mule recruitment, romance scams on social media, fake job offers, "investment" scams. Write a 1-sentence description of each.
Expected output: A 5-row scam-type description.
Marking guidance: 1 mark per accurate description. 5 marks total.
Red flag drill
What pupils do: For each of these phrases, identify the red flag and what action to take: "Send your bank details to confirm prize." "Quick, easy money — just transfer this to your account." "I love you, please send me £200 for the flight." "Sign up for this no-risk crypto investment, 200% guaranteed return."
Expected output: A 4-message red-flag analysis.
Marking guidance: 2 marks per accurate analysis. 8 marks total.
Money mule trap
What pupils do: Find out what a "money mule" is. Why are teens targeted? What's the legal consequence (in the UK)? Write a 3-question short answer.
Expected output: A 3-question short response.
Marking guidance: 3 marks per accurate answer. 9 marks total. (Up to 14 years prison; targets are 18-24 most often.)
Extension (optional)
What pupils do: Design a poster for the school noticeboard warning teens about one specific scam type (your choice). Include: the trick, red flags, what to do, who to tell.
Expected output: A scam-warning poster (drawing + text).
Marking guidance: Up to 8 marks for clarity, accuracy, and visual impact.
Family discussion prompt (safeguarding-aware)
Ask a parent: "Have you ever been targeted by a scam? What did you do?" Discuss together — scams can target anyone.
Classroom safeguarding
Answer key & differentiation
Answer guide
- Hook: scam — the combination of a "new number" and an urgent transfer is the signature; the CHECK step is ringing the real person on the number you already have.
- Guided marking: credit any answer that names a warning sign and applies STOP, CHECK (via a known number or official site, never the message's link) and REPORT (Action Fraud 0300 123 2040, the bank, a trusted adult).
- Challenge: scam — overpayment plus a request to leave the platform; expect a fake "payment confirmed" screenshot or a bogus refund demand. Rule: stay inside the platform's payment system for its protection.
- Homework "Red flag drill": prize needing bank details = phishing (never share, report); "quick easy money, just transfer this" = money-mule recruitment (criminal — refuse and report); "£200 for the flight" = romance scam (never send money to someone you haven't met); "no-risk 200% guaranteed" = investment scam (guaranteed high returns don't exist). Money-mule question: up to 14 years' imprisonment, as the marking note says.
- Plenary reporting list: Action Fraud, the bank (freeze cards), parent/carer, school safeguarding lead.
Support (scaffold)
- Give a six-phrase red-flag bingo card (urgent, secret, prize, transfer, new number, guaranteed) to tick while reading each example.
- Role-play the CHECK call in pairs before writing: one plays the worried teen, one the real parent.
- Physical anchor: any urgency cue = hands off the phone for ten seconds.
Stretch (challenge)
- Map each of the five scam types to the emotion it exploits (fear, love, greed, trust, panic) and explain why emotion beats logic in the moment.
- Design a family "safe word" protocol that defeats AI voice-clone calls.
- Debate: should banks always refund victims of authorised-push-payment fraud? Argue both incentives.