How Scammers Think: teacher key

Staying Safe Online, grade 7 edition, written for 7th grade. Scammers rely on trust, speed and pressure rather than clever code. Learn the signs of phishing, how to protect your accounts and what to do when something online feels wrong.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What do attackers use in social engineering?
   • People's trust (answer)
   • Computer flaws
   • Fast typing
2. What does caller ID spoofing mean for a call that seems to come from a trusted number?
   • It may not be from that number (answer)
   • It must be real
   • It is a text
3. What are texting scams called?
   • Vishing
   • Smishing (answer)
   • Cookies
4. What should you do if a message is suspicious and could be real?
   • Use the contact details in the message
   • Look up the company's real contact details yourself (answer)
   • Forward it to friends
5. Why is your email password especially important?
   • An email account can be used to reset the passwords of your other accounts (answer)
   • It is the longest
   • It is shared with friends
6. What can still exist after you remove a post?
   • Saved or cached copies (answer)
   • Nothing
   • Your password

Words

• spoofed: faked
• smishing: texting scams
• vishing: voice-call scams
• cached: saved copies