Who it’s for and what people take away
Adults of any age who bank, shop or talk to people by phone or online, and anyone who helps a parent, relative or neighbor with their money.
By the end, people can:
- describe how impersonation, payment redirection, romance and investment scams work, and the script they share
- use one habit before moving money: stop, hang up, and call back on a number they already have
- recognize the signs of identity theft and take the first steps
- follow the first-hour steps if they, or someone they know, has been scammed, and know where to report it
Before the session
- Read the run sheet and the country block for where you are teaching, and open each official source so you know what it says.
- Print one worksheet and one country handout per person, plus spares.
- Print the six made-up messages from the activity on cards or a single sheet, one set per table. Don’t use real bank names, logos or phone numbers.
- Ask the host who people can talk to if the session brings up something that is happening to them now, and have the country’s reporting routes ready to show on screen.
- Check that the deck opens on the room’s screen, and have a printed copy as a fallback.
- If you can, bring a printed copy of the first-hour steps (slides 12–13) to give to anyone who wants a spare for a relative.
You will need
- Projector or large screen
- Printed worksheets and country handouts, one each per person
- One set of six message cards per table
- Pens
- Flip chart or whiteboard for the scam script
Run sheet
60 minutes. Slide numbers refer to the deck.
Session timings| Starts | Length | What happens |
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| 0:00 | 5 min | Welcome and ground rulesSlides 1–2Introduce yourself and say you work in or around financial services. Go through the ground rules, especially that nobody has to share a story, and that being scammed is a crime done to someone, not a failing.Say: “Scams work on careful, intelligent people every day. Nobody here has to share anything that has happened to them.” |
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| 0:05 | 8 min | The scam scriptSlides 3–4Explain that fraud teams see the same four steps in almost every scam: contact out of the blue, a story, urgency or secrecy, and a request to move money or share a code. Write the four steps on the board and leave them up.Say: “The story changes. The script doesn’t.” |
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| 0:13 | 12 min | Four scams fraud teams see every daySlides 5–8Go through impersonation, payment redirection, romance and investment scams, and the recovery scams and money mule offers that follow them. For each, point to where it fits the script on the board. |
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| 0:25 | 15 min | Activity: real or scam?Slides 9Tables read the six message cards and fill in the first table on the worksheet: what each message wants, and what they would do instead. Debrief, making the point that the safe response is the same even for the message that might be real. |
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| 0:40 | 5 min | Identity theftSlides 10Go through the signs that someone may be using your identity and the first steps. Point to the country block for reporting and for freezing or flagging a credit file where that exists. |
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| 0:45 | 10 min | The first hourSlides 11–13Go through the first-hour steps slowly. Then show the country block: where to report, and how to check whether a bank or regulator is really contacting you. Ask people to fill in the second table on the worksheet with their own bank’s number from their card, now.Say: “Do the first two straight away: stop paying, and call your bank on the number on your card.” |
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| 0:55 | 5 min | Questions and closeSlides 14Take questions. Hand out the country handout. Remind people they can take a spare for someone they help with money. |
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Real or scam?
15 minutes, using the worksheet.
- Give each table the six made-up message cards. Leave the scam script on the board.
- Message 1, a text: “Your bank: a payment of 950 is pending. If this wasn’t you, call us now on the number below.”
- Message 2, a phone call: “This is your bank’s fraud team. Your account has been compromised. To protect your money, move it to a safe account we’ll set up for you. First, read me the code we’ve just sent.”
- Message 3, an email from your landlord’s address: “We’ve changed banks. Please pay this month’s rent to the new account details below.”
- Message 4, from someone you met online three months ago and have never met in person: they are stuck abroad and need money for a fee to release their savings, and they’ll pay you back next week.
- Message 5, an advert shared by a friend: an investment platform with guaranteed returns of several percent a week. Your friend says they put in a little and took some out.
- Message 6, a letter in the post from your bank asking you to call the number on the back of your card about a recent card payment.
- Tables have eight minutes to fill in the worksheet table: what each message wants you to do, and what you would do instead.
- Debrief for seven minutes. Messages 1 to 5 all follow the script. Message 6 may well be genuine, because it sends you to a number you already have; the safe response to every one of them is the same: stop, and contact the organization or person on a number you already have.
Questions for the room afterwards
- Which part of the script did you spot first in each message?
- Which message felt most convincing, and why?
- Why is the safe response the same for the message that might be real?
- Who would you call before paying new bank details, and on which number?
Take care
General information, never advice about one person’s situation, and nothing to sell.
- Don’t ask anyone to share a story about being scammed. If someone chooses to, thank them and don’t ask for details or amounts.
- Never suggest that people who are scammed were careless or greedy. Being scammed is a crime done to you, not a failing.
- Don’t use real bank, company or government names, logos or phone numbers in examples, and never ask anyone to read out a code, a password or account details, even as a demonstration.
- Don’t promise that money will be returned. Whether it can be depends on the country, how the payment was made and how quickly it is reported.
- If someone realizes during the session that it is happening to them now, help them at the break to call their bank on the number on their card, and show them the reporting routes on the handout.
Questions people ask
Will my bank give my money back?
It depends on your country, how the payment was made, and how quickly you report it. Card payments and payments you didn’t authorize are often treated differently from a transfer you were tricked into making. Call your bank straight away, and see your country handout for the rules and the complaint route if the bank says no.
How can a call show my bank’s real number?
Caller ID can be faked, so a call or text that looks like it comes from your bank’s real number can still be a scam. Hang up, wait a moment, and call the number on your card, a statement or the bank’s official website, ideally from a different phone.
My parent is talking to someone online who keeps needing money. What can I do?
Stay close rather than arguing, because shame makes people hide it. Ask gently about the pattern: never meeting, a crisis, secrecy, money. Offer to check things together. If money has been sent, follow the first-hour steps and report it.
Someone has offered to recover my money for a fee. Should I pay?
No. Anyone who contacts you offering to recover lost money for a fee may be the same people, or another scam. Real help from your bank, the police or an official reporting service doesn’t come with an upfront charge.
Is it worth reporting if I didn’t lose any money?
Yes. Reports help the authorities spot scams, warn others and link crimes together. Your country handout lists where to report.
Where you are teaching
The rules differ by country. Teach the shared material from the slides, then use the block for the country you are in, and hand out that country’s sheet.
United States
- Report fraud. Report fraud, scams and bad business practices to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Report internet and cyber-enabled crime to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), even if you’re unsure whether it qualifies.
- Recovery offers. IC3 will never contact you directly for information or money, and doesn’t work with law firms or crypto services to get lost funds back.
- Identity theft. IdentityTheft.gov, from the FTC, lets you report identity theft and get a recovery plan. Freezing your credit file is free by law, and you contact each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies separately.
- Act fast on unauthorized transactions. For a debit card or other electronic transfer you didn’t make or allow, reporting a lost card or stolen PIN within two business days limits what you can be held responsible for. Report unauthorized transactions within 60 days of the statement that shows them; the bank then generally has ten business days to investigate.
- Older and vulnerable people. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests contacting your local adult protective services agency if the victim is an older person or a person with a disability.
United Kingdom
- Report Fraud. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report fraud and cyber crime to Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud) online or on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101.
- Scam emails and texts. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Most phone providers let you forward scam texts free to 7726.
- Reimbursement for bank transfer scams. The Payment Systems Regulator’s reimbursement requirement covers people tricked into sending money by Faster Payments or CHAPS from one UK account to another. Tell your bank straight away.
- If your bank says no. The Financial Ombudsman Service is free and can look at complaints about how your bank or payment provider handled things when you were scammed.
- Investment scams. The FCA will never ask you to transfer money to it or for your bank PINs or passwords. Check its register and warning list before investing with anyone who contacts you.
Canada
- Report to police and the CAFC. If you have been a victim of fraud or cybercrime, contact your local police as soon as possible. Also report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), whether or not you were a victim; you can report anonymously.
- Recovery scams. Fraudsters target previous victims, promising to get their money back or claiming to be a fraud investigator, and some pretend to be from the CAFC. The CAFC does not contact individuals to ask for money.
- Check with a number you trust. The CAFC advises verifying a call about your credit card by phoning the number on the back of the card, and checking with other family members if a relative contacts you saying they are in trouble.
- Government impersonation. Scammers often pretend to be the Canada Revenue Agency, Service Canada and other agencies. If you are unsure about a message, contact the department or agency directly.
Australia
- Report cybercrime. If you are a victim of cybercrime, report it through ReportCyber, part of the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
- Scamwatch. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Scamwatch collects scam reports and shares information about scams, but doesn’t respond to individual reports.
- Identity crime. Signs include items on your statements you don’t recognize, bills for things you didn’t buy, or being told, when you apply for a government benefit, that you are already claiming it. Report identity crime to your local police on 131 444; the Australian Federal Police points people to IDCARE for help.
- Investment scams. ASIC keeps an investor alert list of companies and websites not to trust, and its Moneysmart website explains steps to take if you think you’ve been scammed.