Ethiopia’s largest bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), has announced that it has recovered nearly $10 million of the $14 million it lost during a technical glitch that allowed customers to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts. The bank’s head, Abe Sano, stated that thousands of customers voluntarily returned the cash, but warned that those who did not would face criminal charges. Most of the money was withdrawn by university students, who learned of the glitch through messaging apps and phone calls. The bank has assured customers that their personal accounts were not affected and that the glitch was not the result of a cyber-attack.

Several universities released statements urging students to return any money that did not belong to them. The CBE is in the process of reporting customers to the police and believes that they will be able to trace and hold them accountable for their actions. Initially, it was reported that over $40 million was lost in the glitch. However, it has been more challenging for the bank to track money transferred to other banks compared to funds moved to another CBE account. The glitch resulted in a total of 490,000 transactions before the problem was identified.

The CBE, which has been in operation for 82 years and serves over 38 million account holders, has not provided specific details about the technical issue that caused the glitch. However, it has emphasized that the personal accounts of customers remain secure. The recovery of a significant portion of the lost funds is a positive development for the bank and demonstrates its commitment to resolving the issue. The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of robust technical systems and the need for customers to act responsibly in such situations.

Original news source: Customers return $10m taken during bank glitch (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, students will read the article and create a concise summary of the main points. They should focus on the key details and use their own words to summarize the information.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Students will discuss the following question: “Do you think the university students who withdrew money during the glitch should face criminal charges? Why or why not?” They will then conduct a poll, asking their classmates for their opinions and tallying the results. Finally, they will share the overall findings with the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Each student will be given a vocabulary word from the article. They will have a few minutes to create a simple drawing that represents the word. Once everyone has finished, students will take turns showing their drawings to the class and asking their classmates to guess the word.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Students will work in pairs or small groups to create a catchy headline for the article. They should aim to capture the main idea or highlight an interesting aspect of the story. After brainstorming and discussing their ideas, each group will present their headline to the class.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Students will form two groups: one group will argue the pros of the bank’s decision to press criminal charges against customers who did not return the money, and the other group will argue the cons. Each group will have a few minutes to prepare their arguments, and then they will take turns presenting their points to the class. After both sides have presented, students can engage in a class discussion to share their own opinions.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. How much money did the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia recover from the glitch?
2. Who were the main culprits in withdrawing the excess money?
3. How did university students learn about the glitch?
4. What consequences will customers face if they do not return the money?
5. Which institutions urged students to return the money?
6. How is the CBE planning to hold customers accountable for their actions?
7. How many transactions were made during the glitch?
8. What has the CBE emphasized about the personal accounts of customers?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

(1)______’s largest bank, the (2)______ Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), has announced that it has recovered nearly $10 million of the $14 million it lost during a technical glitch that allowed customers to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts. The bank’s head, Abe Sano, stated that thousands of customers voluntarily returned the cash, but (3)______ that those who did not would face criminal charges. Most of the money was (4)______ by university students, who learned of the glitch through messaging apps and phone calls. The bank has (5)______ customers that their personal accounts were not affected and that the glitch was not the result of a cyber-attack.

Several universities (6)______ statements (7)______ students to return any money that did not belong to them. The CBE is in the process of reporting customers to the police and (8)______ that they will be able to trace and hold them accountable for their (9)______. Initially, it was (10)______ that over $40 million was lost in the glitch. However, it has been more challenging for the bank to track (11)______ transferred to other banks compared to funds (12)______ to another CBE account. The glitch resulted in a total of 490,000 transactions before the problem was identified.

The CBE, which has been in operation for 82 years and serves over 38 million account holders, has not provided specific details about the technical (13)______ that caused the (14)______. However, it has emphasized that the personal accounts of (15)______ remain secure. The recovery of a significant portion of the lost funds is a positive development for the bank and demonstrates its commitment to resolving the issue. The incident (16)______ as a reminder of the importance of robust technical systems and the need for customers to act responsibly in such situations.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What would you do if you discovered a glitch that allowed you to withdraw more money than you had in your bank account?
2. How do you think the university students who withdrew the extra money feel now that they are facing criminal charges?
3. Do you think the bank should have provided more specific details about the technical issue that caused the glitch? Why or why not?
4. How would you feel if you were one of the customers whose money was affected by the glitch?
5. Do you think the university students who returned the extra money voluntarily should still face criminal charges? Why or why not?
6. What is the responsibility of the bank in ensuring the security of their customers’ accounts?
7. How do you think the glitch could have been prevented in the first place?
8. Do you think the bank should offer any compensation to the customers who were affected by the glitch? Why or why not?
9. How do you think the bank’s reputation will be affected by this incident?
10. What measures do you think should be put in place to prevent similar glitches from happening in the future?
11. How would you feel if you were a customer of the bank and your personal account was affected by the glitch?
12. Do you think the university students who withdrew the extra money should face any consequences for their actions? Why or why not?
13. How do you think the bank should handle the customers who did not voluntarily return the extra money?
14. Do you think the bank’s recovery of a significant portion of the lost funds is a success? Why or why not?
15. How would you feel if you were a customer of the bank and you found out that your personal account was not affected by the glitch?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. glitch
2. voluntarily
3. criminal
4. universities
5. messaging
6. cyber-attack
7. accountable
8. transactions
9. robust
10. responsibly
11. emphasized
12. commitment
13. reminder
14. technical
15. resolving

Meanings:
(A) Relating to illegal activities or actions punishable by law
(B) Done, given, or acting of one’s own free will
(C) Strong and unlikely to break or fail
(D) An attempt to damage or disrupt computer systems or electronic networks operated by computers
(E) The act of sending messages electronically, especially through the internet
(F) A small problem or fault in a system that causes it to work incorrectly
(G) The act of buying, selling, or exchanging goods or services between people or organizations
(H) Something that serves to warn or remind
(I) In a way that shows care for the consequences of one’s actions
(J) The act of finding a solution to a conflict or problem
(K) Required to explain actions or decisions to someone
(L) Institutions of higher education and research, which grant academic degrees
(M) A pledge or promise to do something
(N) Relating to the practical application of scientific knowledge
(O) Stressed as being very important or necessary
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. How much money did the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia lose during the technical glitch?
(a) $10 million
(b) $40 million
(c) $14 million
(d) $82 million

2. How did university students learn about the glitch?
(a) Messaging apps and phone calls
(b) Social media posts
(c) News articles
(d) Television advertisements

3. What did the bank’s head warn customers who did not return the cash?
(a) They would receive a fine
(b) They would be banned from the bank
(c) They would have their accounts frozen
(d) They would face criminal charges

4. How did the bank assure customers that their personal accounts were not affected?
(a) By sending individual messages to each customer
(b) Through a public statement
(c) By offering compensation to affected customers
(d) By conducting an investigation

5. How many transactions were made during the glitch?
(a) 490,000
(b) 82,000
(c) 38 million
(d) 14 million

6. How long has the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia been in operation?
(a) 38 years
(b) 82 years
(c) 14 years
(d) 490,000 years

7. What did several universities urge students to do?
(a) Withdraw all their money from the bank
(b) Close their accounts at the bank
(c) Return any money that did not belong to them
(d) File a complaint against the bank

8. What does the recovery of a significant portion of the lost funds demonstrate?
(a) The bank’s negligence in handling the glitch
(b) The bank’s lack of security measures
(c) The bank’s inability to track money transfers
(d) The bank’s commitment to resolving the issue

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) lost $14 million due to a technical glitch.
2. The CBE is reporting customers to the police and plans to hold them accountable for their actions.
3. Hundreds of customers voluntarily returned the cash they had withdrawn.
4. The bug resulted in a total of 590,000 transactions before it was identified.
5. University students were not the main group of customers who took advantage of the glitch.
6. The bank has only recovered about $10,000 of the lost funds.
7. The glitch was not the result of a cyber-attack.
8. Several universities urged students to return any money that did not belong to them.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. How much money did the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) recover after the technical glitch?
2. Who were the main culprits of withdrawing more money than they had in their accounts?
3. How did university students learn about the glitch?
4. What actions is the CBE taking to hold customers accountable for not returning the money?
5. What does the recovery of a significant portion of the lost funds demonstrate about the CBE?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia recovered nearly $10 million from the glitch.
2. University students were the main culprits in withdrawing the excess money.
3. University students learned about the glitch through messaging apps and phone calls.
4. Customers who do not return the money will face criminal charges.
5. Several universities urged students to return the money.
6. The CBE is planning to report customers to the police and believes they will be able to trace and hold them accountable for their actions.
7. A total of 490,000 transactions were made during the glitch.
8. The CBE has emphasized that the personal accounts of customers remain secure.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Ethiopia
(2) Commercial
(3) warned
(4) withdrawn
(5) assured
(6) released
(7) urging
(8) believes
(9) actions
(10) reported
(11) money
(12) moved
(13) issue
(14) glitch
(15) customers
(16) serves
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. glitch
Answer: (F) A small problem or fault in a system that causes it to work incorrectly

2. voluntarily
Answer: (B) Done, given, or acting of one’s own free will

3. criminal
Answer: (A) Relating to illegal activities or actions punishable by law

4. universities
Answer: (L) Institutions of higher education and research, which grant academic degrees

5. messaging
Answer: (E) The act of sending messages electronically, especially through the internet

6. cyber-attack
Answer: (D) An attempt to damage or disrupt computer systems or electronic networks operated by computers

7. accountable
Answer: (K) Required to explain actions or decisions to someone

8. transactions
Answer: (G) The act of buying, selling, or exchanging goods or services between people or organizations

9. robust
Answer: (C) Strong and unlikely to break or fail

10. responsibly
Answer: (I) In a way that shows care for the consequences of one’s actions

11. emphasized
Answer: (O) Stressed as being very important or necessary

12. commitment
Answer: (M) A pledge or promise to do something

13. reminder
Answer: (H) Something that serves to warn or remind

14. technical
Answer: (N) Relating to the practical application of scientific knowledge

15. resolving
Answer: (J) The act of finding a solution to a conflict or problem
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. How much money did the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia lose during the technical glitch?
Answer: (c) $14 million

2. How did university students learn about the glitch?
Answer: (a) Messaging apps and phone calls

3. What did the bank’s head warn customers who did not return the cash?
Answer: (d) They would face criminal charges

4. How did the bank assure customers that their personal accounts were not affected?
Answer: (b) Through a public statement

5. How many transactions were made during the glitch?
Answer: (a) 490,000

6. How long has the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia been in operation?
Answer: (b) 82 years

7. What did several universities urge students to do?
Answer: (c) Return any money that did not belong to them

8. What does the recovery of a significant portion of the lost funds demonstrate?
Answer: (d) The bank’s commitment to resolving the issue
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) lost $14 million due to a technical glitch. (Answer: True)
2. The CBE is reporting customers to the police and plans to hold them accountable for their actions. (Answer: True)
3. Hundreds of customers voluntarily returned the cash they had withdrawn. (Answer: False)
4. The bug resulted in a total of 590,000 transactions before it was identified. (Answer: False)
5. University students were not the main group of customers who took advantage of the glitch. (Answer: False)
6. The bank has only recovered about $10,000 of the lost funds. (Answer: False)
7. The glitch was not the result of a cyber-attack. (Answer: True)
8. Several universities urged students to return any money that did not belong to them. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧