Ethiopia’s biggest bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), has announced that it has gotten back almost $10 million of the $14 million it lost due to a technical problem. This problem allowed customers to take out more money than they had in their accounts. The head of the bank, Abe Sano, said that many customers returned the money on their own, but warned that those who didn’t would face criminal charges. Most of the money was taken out by university students who found out about the problem through messaging apps and phone calls. The bank wants customers to know that their personal accounts were not affected and that the problem wasn’t caused by a cyber-attack.

Many universities have asked students to return any money that wasn’t theirs. The CBE is working with the police to report customers and believes that they will be able to find and hold them responsible for what they did. At first, it was said that over $40 million was lost because of the problem. However, it has been harder for the bank to track money sent to other banks compared to money moved to another CBE account. The problem caused a total of 490,000 transactions before it was found.

The CBE has been around for 82 years and has over 38 million people with accounts. They haven’t given specific details about the technical problem that caused the issue. But they want people to know that their personal accounts are safe. Getting back a big part of the lost money is good news for the bank and shows that they are working hard to fix the problem. This situation reminds us how important it is to have strong technical systems and for customers to act responsibly when things like this happen.

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 then summarize the main points in their own words. They can take turns presenting their summaries to the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Students will form pairs or small groups and discuss their opinions on the bank’s response to the technical problem. They will then create a poll with questions related to the topic and survey their classmates. Finally, they will present their findings to the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Divide the class into two teams. Each team will take turns choosing a word from the article and drawing it on the board. The other team will have to guess the word based on the drawing. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: In pairs, students will create a catchy headline for the article. They should aim to capture the main idea and attract readers’ attention. After coming up with their headlines, they will present them to the class and explain their choices.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions: In small groups, students will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the bank’s approach to dealing with the technical problem. They should consider different perspectives and present their arguments to the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What happened to the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia that caused them to lose money?
2. How much money did the bank manage to get back?
3. Who were the main people taking out more money than they had in their accounts?
4. How did these people find out about the problem?
5. What action did the bank take to try and recover the lost money?
6. Why was it harder for the bank to track money sent to other banks?
7. How many transactions were made before the problem was discovered?
8. Why is it important for banks to have strong technical systems?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Ethiopia’s biggest bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), has announced that it has gotten back almost $10 million of the $14 million it lost due to a technical (1)______. This problem allowed customers to take out more (2)______ than they had in their (3)______. The head of the bank, Abe Sano, said that many customers returned the money on their own, but warned that those who didn’t would face criminal (4)______. Most of the money was taken out by university students who found out about the problem through messaging apps and phone calls. The bank wants (5)______ to know that their personal accounts were not (6)______ and that the problem wasn’t caused by a cyber-attack.

Many (7)______ have asked students to return any money that wasn’t theirs. The CBE is working with the police to report customers and (8)______ that they will be able to find and hold them responsible for what they did. At first, it was said that over $40 million was lost because of the problem. However, it has been harder for the bank to track money sent to other (9)______ compared to money (10)______ to another CBE account. The problem (11)______ a (12)______ of 490,000 transactions before it was found.

The CBE has been around for 82 years and has over 38 million people with accounts. They haven’t given (13)______ details about the technical problem that caused the issue. But they want people to know that their personal accounts are safe. Getting back a big part of the lost money is good news for the bank and (14)______ that they are working hard to fix the problem. This (15)______ reminds us how (16)______ it is to have strong technical systems and for customers to act responsibly when things like this happen.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a technical problem?
2. How would you feel if you found out your bank lost money due to a technical problem?
3. Do you think it’s fair for the bank to charge criminal charges against those who didn’t return the money they took out?
4. Why do you think university students took out the most money during this problem?
5. What do you think messaging apps and phone calls have to do with this problem?
6. How would you feel if your university asked you to return money that wasn’t yours?
7. Do you think the police will be able to find and hold the customers responsible for what they did?
8. Why do you think it’s harder for the bank to track money sent to other banks compared to money moved to another CBE account?
9. How important do you think it is to have strong technical systems in banks?
10. How do you think customers should act responsibly when problems like this happen?
11. What do you think the bank could have done to prevent this problem from happening?
12. Why do you think the bank hasn’t given specific details about the technical problem?
13. How do you think the bank was able to get back a big part of the lost money?
14. Do you think this situation will make customers lose trust in the bank?
15. Why do you think it’s important for the bank to fix the problem and get back the lost money?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Ethiopia
2. technical
3. customers
4. criminal
5. university
6. cyber-attack
7. accounts
8. transactions
9. responsible
10. track
11. specific
12. issue
13. remind
14. systems
15. responsibly

Meanings:
(A) The action or process of buying, selling, or exchanging goods or services
(B) Relating to crimes or the breaking of laws
(C) Detailed and exact
(D) Related to the practical use of machines or science in industry, engineering, etc.
(E) In a way that shows careful and correct behavior or actions
(F) An attempt to damage or get unauthorized access to a computer system or network
(G) Having the duty to deal with something or having control over someone
(H) A higher education institution where students study for degrees and other qualifications
(I) Records or arrangements where people keep their money in a bank
(J) A problem or difficulty
(K) To cause someone to remember something or someone
(L) A set of connected parts that operate together
(M) A country in Africa
(N) To follow or monitor the movements or progress of something or someone
(O) People who buy goods or services from a business
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

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

2. How did university students find out about the problem?
(a) Through social media
(b) Through the news
(c) Through their professors
(d) Through messaging apps and phone calls

3. What action did the bank take to recover the lost money?
(a) Asking universities to help locate the students
(b) Hiring cybersecurity experts
(c) Working with the police to report customers
(d) Offering a reward for information

4. How many transactions were made before the problem was discovered?
(a) 490,000
(b) 38 million
(c) 82 years
(d) 14 million

5. How long has the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia been in operation?
(a) 38 million people
(b) 82 years
(c) $14 million
(d) Since the problem occurred

6. What did the bank want customers to know about their personal accounts?
(a) They were at risk of a cyber-attack
(b) They were not affected by the problem
(c) They would be charged for the lost money
(d) They should close their accounts immediately

7. What does the situation with the bank remind us about?
(a) The need for more university funding
(b) The dangers of messaging apps and phone calls
(c) The risks of using online banking
(d) The importance of strong technical systems

8. What did the bank warn customers who didn’t return the money?
(a) They would face criminal charges
(b) They would receive a reward
(c) They would be given a second chance
(d) They would be compensated for the inconvenience

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The bank is working with the police to identify and hold responsible those who did not return the extra money.
2. The bank has clarified that personal accounts were not affected and the problem was not caused by a cyber-attack.
3. Customers were unable to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts because of the technical problem.
4. The bank has been in operation for 82 months and has over 38 billion account holders.
5. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia lost $14 million due to a technical problem.
6. University students were not the ones who withdrew the majority of the money.
7. The bank has failed to recover almost $10 million of the lost money.
8. Many customers voluntarily returned the extra money they had withdrawn.
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 happened to the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia that caused them to lose money?
2. How did university students find out about the problem with the bank?
3. What is the bank doing to try and find the customers who took out more money than they had in their accounts?
4. How many transactions were made before the problem was discovered?
5. Why is it important for banks to have strong technical systems?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What happened to the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia that caused them to lose money?
The bank experienced a technical problem that allowed customers to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts.

2. How much money did the bank manage to get back?
The bank has recovered almost $10 million of the $14 million it lost.

3. Who were the main people taking out more money than they had in their accounts?
University students were the main people taking out more money than they had in their accounts.

4. How did these people find out about the problem?
They found out about the problem through messaging apps and phone calls.

5. What action did the bank take to try and recover the lost money?
The bank is working with the police to report customers and believes that they will be able to find and hold them responsible for what they did.

6. Why was it harder for the bank to track money sent to other banks?
It was harder for the bank to track money sent to other banks compared to money moved to another CBE account because it is more difficult to trace transactions outside of their own system.

7. How many transactions were made before the problem was discovered?
A total of 490,000 transactions were made before the problem was discovered.

8. Why is it important for banks to have strong technical systems?
It is important for banks to have strong technical systems to prevent issues like this from happening and to protect their customers’ accounts.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) problem
(2) money
(3) accounts
(4) charges
(5) customers
(6) affected
(7) universities
(8) believes
(9) banks
(10) moved
(11) caused
(12) total
(13) specific
(14) shows
(15) situation
(16) important
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Ethiopia
Answer: (M) A country in Africa

2. technical
Answer: (D) Related to the practical use of machines or science in industry, engineering, etc.

3. customers
Answer: (O) People who buy goods or services from a business

4. criminal
Answer: (B) Relating to crimes or the breaking of laws

5. university
Answer: (H) A higher education institution where students study for degrees and other qualifications

6. cyber-attack
Answer: (F) An attempt to damage or get unauthorized access to a computer system or network

7. accounts
Answer: (I) Records or arrangements where people keep their money in a bank

8. transactions
Answer: (A) The action or process of buying, selling, or exchanging goods or services

9. responsible
Answer: (G) Having the duty to deal with something or having control over someone

10. track
Answer: (N) To follow or monitor the movements or progress of something or someone

11. specific
Answer: (C) Detailed and exact

12. issue
Answer: (J) A problem or difficulty

13. remind
Answer: (K) To cause someone to remember something or someone

14. systems
Answer: (L) A set of connected parts that operate together

15. responsibly
Answer: (E) In a way that shows careful and correct behavior or actions
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. How much money did the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia lose due to a technical problem?
Answer: (c) $14 million

2. How did university students find out about the problem?
Answer: (d) Through messaging apps and phone calls

3. What action did the bank take to recover the lost money?
Answer: (c) Working with the police to report customers

4. How many transactions were made before the problem was discovered?
Answer: (a) 490,000

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

6. What did the bank want customers to know about their personal accounts?
Answer: (b) They were not affected by the problem

7. What does the situation with the bank remind us about?
Answer: (d) The importance of strong technical systems

8. What did the bank warn customers who didn’t return the money?
Answer: (a) They would face criminal charges
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The bank is working with the police to identify and hold responsible those who did not return the extra money. (Answer: True)
2. The bank has clarified that personal accounts were not affected and the problem was not caused by a cyber-attack. (Answer: True)
3. Customers were unable to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts because of the technical problem. (Answer: False)
4. The bank has been in operation for 82 months and has over 38 billion account holders. (Answer: False)
5. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia lost $14 million due to a technical problem. (Answer: True)
6. University students were not the ones who withdrew the majority of the money. (Answer: False)
7. The bank has failed to recover almost $10 million of the lost money. (Answer: False)
8. Many customers voluntarily returned the extra money they had withdrawn. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧