Bad people are tricking others to take their money by pretending to offer jobs. They send fake messages and make phone calls to lie about jobs that don’t exist. They ask for personal information like where you live and your birthday. They also ask for bank details and then take money from people. A lot of people are telling the police about these tricks, but the police think even more people are being tricked and not telling.

One lady, Bella, lost almost £3,000 because of these bad tricks. She thought she was talking to someone about a real job, but they were lying. They took her card information and used it to take her money. Bella’s bank won’t give her money back, so she is asking for help and working more to get her money back. A smart person who knows a lot about crime says these bad people are very tricky and keep asking for more money. To stop these tricks, everyone needs to work together, including the police and the people who make the rules.

Original news source: I had £3,000 stolen via WhatsApp job scam message’ (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

Fast

📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs. Give each pair a set of job-related vocabulary flashcards. One student from each pair will act out the job on the flashcard without speaking, while the other student guesses the job. After a certain amount of time, switch roles.

– News Summary
Instructions: Read the article aloud to the class. Then, have the students work in pairs or small groups to summarize the main points of the article. Each group can share their summary with the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Create a worksheet with statements related to the article, such as “Taking personal information from others is a serious crime” or “Banks should be more responsible for reimbursing victims of fraud.” Have the students circle whether they agree or disagree with each statement. After completing the worksheet, have a class discussion to share and compare opinions.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of job-related vocabulary words from the article on the board. Divide the class into teams. One student from each team will choose a word and draw it on the board, while their team tries to guess the word. The team that guesses correctly earns a point.

– Speed Summarizing
Instructions: Give each student a copy of the article. Set a timer for a short amount of time (e.g. 2 minutes). Students must quickly read the article and write a one-sentence summary. After the time is up, have the students share their summaries with a partner and discuss any differences or similarities.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What are bad people doing to trick others?
2. What kind of information do the bad people ask for?
3. What happened to Bella because of these tricks?
4. Why won’t Bella’s bank give her money back?
5. What does Bella need help with?
6. What does the smart person say about these bad people?
7. Who needs to work together to stop these tricks?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Bad people are tricking others to take their money by pretending to offer jobs. They send (1)______ messages and make phone calls to lie about jobs that don’t (2)______. They ask for personal information like where you live and your birthday. They also ask for bank details and then take (3)______ from people. A lot of people are telling the police about these tricks, but the police think even (4)______ people are being tricked and not telling.

One lady, Bella, lost almost £3,000 because of these bad tricks. She thought she was talking to someone about a (5)______ job, but they were lying. They (6)______ her card information and used it to take her money. Bella’s bank won’t give her money back, so she is asking for help and working more to get her money back. A smart person who knows a lot about crime says these bad people are very tricky and keep (7)______ for more money. To stop these tricks, everyone needs to work together, including the police and the people who (8)______ the rules.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a trick?
2. How would you feel if someone tricked you out of your money?
3. Do you like it when people lie to you? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s important to tell the police if someone tricks you? Why or why not?
5. What is personal information?
6. How would you feel if someone asked you for your personal information?
7. Do you think it’s safe to give your personal information to strangers? Why or why not?
8. What is a bank?
9. How would you feel if someone took money from your bank account?
10. Do you think Bella’s bank should give her money back? Why or why not?
11. What is a rule?
12. How can we work together to stop these tricks?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. difficult
2. pretending
3. personal
4. details
5. tricks
6. police
7. crime
8. smart
9. together
10. rules

Meanings:
(A) Instructions on what you can or cannot do
(B) When someone does something very bad that is against the law
(C) Hard to do or understand
(D) People who help keep us safe and catch those who do bad things
(E) Acting like you are something you are not
(F) Being with others or doing something as a team
(G) Ways to fool or play jokes on someone
(H) About you, like your name and how old you are
(I) When you know a lot and can think really well
(J) Small pieces of information about something
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. How are bad people tricking others to take their money?
(a) By giving away free money
(b) By asking for personal information
(c) By telling the truth about jobs
(d) By pretending to offer jobs

2. What kind of information do the bad people ask for?
(a) Your favorite color and pet’s name
(b) Where you live and your birthday
(c) Your favorite food and TV show
(d) Your shoe size and hair color

3. What do the bad people do with the bank details they ask for?
(a) Take money from people
(b) Give money to people
(c) Buy presents for people
(d) Donate money to charity

4. Who is Bella?
(a) A police officer investigating the tricks
(b) A person who makes the rules
(c) A lady who lost money because of the bad tricks
(d) A smart person who knows a lot about crime

5. How much money did Bella lose?
(a) Almost £1,000
(b) Almost £3,000
(c) Almost £5,000
(d) Almost £10,000

6. Why won’t Bella’s bank give her money back?
(a) They don’t have any money to give her
(b) They don’t believe her story
(c) It was her fault for giving her card information
(d) They think she spent the money herself

7. What does the smart person say about the bad people?
(a) They are very tricky and keep asking for more money
(b) They are very kind and give money to people
(c) They are very honest and never lie
(d) They are very lazy and don’t do anything

8. Who needs to work together to stop these tricks?
(a) Only the police
(b) Only the people who make the rules
(c) Only the people who have been tricked
(d) Everyone, including the police and the people who make the rules

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Bad people are tricking others by pretending to offer jobs.
2. One lady named Bella didn’t lose almost £3,000 because of these tricks.
3. Not many people are telling the police about these tricks.
4. They don’t ask for personal information like where you live and your birthday.
5. They also ask for bank details and then take money from people.
6. They send real messages and make phone calls to tell the truth about jobs.
7. Bella’s bank won’t give her money back, so she is asking for help and working more to get her money back.
8. The police think even more people are being tricked and not telling.
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. What are some ways that bad people trick others to take their money?
2. What kind of personal information do the bad people ask for?
3. What happened to Bella when she thought she was talking about a real job?
4. Why won’t Bella’s bank give her money back?
5. Who needs to work together to stop these tricks?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What are bad people doing to trick others?
They are pretending to offer jobs that don’t exist.

2. What kind of information do the bad people ask for?
They ask for personal information like where you live and your birthday, as well as bank details.

3. What happened to Bella because of these tricks?
Bella lost almost £3,000 because the bad people took her money.

4. Why won’t Bella’s bank give her money back?
The bank won’t give her money back because they think she gave her card information willingly.

5. What does Bella need help with?
Bella needs help to get her money back.

6. What does the smart person say about these bad people?
The smart person says that these bad people are very tricky and keep asking for more money.

7. Who needs to work together to stop these tricks?
Everyone, including the police and the people who make the rules, needs to work together to stop these tricks.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) fake
(2) exist
(3) money
(4) more
(5) real
(6) took
(7) asking
(8) make
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. difficult
Answer: (C) Hard to do or understand

2. pretending
Answer: (E) Acting like you are something you are not

3. personal
Answer: (H) About you, like your name and how old you are

4. details
Answer: (J) Small pieces of information about something

5. tricks
Answer: (G) Ways to fool or play jokes on someone

6. police
Answer: (D) People who help keep us safe and catch those who do bad things

7. crime
Answer: (B) When someone does something very bad that is against the law

8. smart
Answer: (I) When you know a lot and can think really well

9. together
Answer: (F) Being with others or doing something as a team

10. rules
Answer: (A) Instructions on what you can or cannot do
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. How are bad people tricking others to take their money?
Answer: (d) By pretending to offer jobs

2. What kind of information do the bad people ask for?
Answer: (b) Where you live and your birthday

3. What do the bad people do with the bank details they ask for?
Answer: (a) Take money from people

4. Who is Bella?
Answer: (c) A lady who lost money because of the bad tricks

5. How much money did Bella lose?
Answer: (b) Almost £3,000

6. Why won’t Bella’s bank give her money back?
Answer: (c) It was her fault for giving her card information

7. What does the smart person say about the bad people?
Answer: (a) They are very tricky and keep asking for more money

8. Who needs to work together to stop these tricks?
Answer: (d) Everyone, including the police and the people who make the rules
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Bad people are tricking others by pretending to offer jobs. (Answer: True)
2. One lady named Bella didn’t lose almost £3,000 because of these tricks. (Answer: False)
3. Not many people are telling the police about these tricks. (Answer: False)
4. They don’t ask for personal information like where you live and your birthday. (Answer: False)
5. They also ask for bank details and then take money from people. (Answer: True)
6. They send real messages and make phone calls to tell the truth about jobs. (Answer: False)
7. Bella’s bank won’t give her money back, so she is asking for help and working more to get her money back. (Answer: True)
8. The police think even more people are being tricked and not telling. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧