Hello, my name is Ms. Ikomi.

I'm a teacher from London and I'm going to be taking you through today's lesson.

Let's get started.

Today's lesson is called, "How can we protect ourselves from fraud?" It is part of the wider unit, "How can we manage our money well?" By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain what fraud is, how to prevent fraud online, and how to protect yourself from scams. We're going to start by thinking about what fraud is.

Our key words that we're going to hear a lot coming up in today's lesson are fraud.

This means when someone acts, lies, or breaks trust to gain money or cause a loss.

It's a broad term that covers different types of crimes.

Fraud can happen online, in person, or through letters or messages.

A scam is a dishonest scheme that is designed to trick people into giving away money.

It could also trick you into giving away personal information or valuables.

So this is what fraud is.

Next, we're going to think about how this can happen and how we can prevent this from happening.

Fraud, as we saw, in our keyword definition, is a crime that is associated with lying or deceiving people basically to gain money or benefits.

It might look like causing someone else a loss or risk of losing something.

It can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Often it will involve someone being tricked or deceived into doing something or not doing something.

This would normally result in them making a financial loss, which then would be the gain of the person who has tricked them.

This type of trick is often called a scam.

Fraud can be committed online, in person, or through any forms of correspondence.

Those forms of correspondence might include letters, emails, messages in gaming that could happen online, phone calls, text messages, social media posts, social media messages, or anything else that involves speaking to someone.

UK Finance publishes an annual report highlighting the widespread nature of fraud in the UK.

They reported that in 2023, 1.

17 billion pounds was stolen through fraud.

There were 2.

97 million confirmed cases of fraud in the UK, and 76 of fraud cases originated from online sources.

These cases tended to include lower value scams, such as purchase fraud, and therefore only accounted for 30% of total losses.

Let's check what we've done so far.

In 2023, what percentage of fraud took place online? Pause your video and have a go now.

The correct was C, 76%, so a massive majority.

Aisha is saying, "There's so much fraud in our society, it's a real threat to people's safety and finances." Jacob agrees saying, "In 2025, the National Crime Agency stated that fraud is the most commonly experienced crime in the UK.

It accounts for over 40% of crime in England and Wales." The Fraud Act 2006 defines three types of fraud offences.

The first is false representation.

This means that people dishonestly make a false representation to make a gain or cause a loss to another.

Failure to disclose information, this means withholding information when there's a legal duty to disclose it, and last, fraud by abuse of position.

That means people might be in a position of trust and they might abuse that in order to make a gain or cause a loss to someone else.

For each of these three offences, the conduct has to be dishonest, the person committing the offence has to know that the representation is or might be false, their intention must be to make a gain for themselves or someone else, or to cause a loss to the person that they're speaking to or someone else.

The gain doesn't need to actually have occurred for the offence to be committed.

Criminals that commit fraud are often called fraudsters, may be hackers or scammers.

Let's do another check.

True or false.

The Fraud Act 2006 defines three types of fraud offences which must all be committed with dishonesty.

Pause your video and have a go at this now.

The correct answer is true.

A representation is false if it's untrue or misleading, and the person making it knows that they are making one that is untrue or misleading.

So what this might look like is two people see an advertisement for a diamond ring online.

The seller claims it has a rare diamond and charges a high price, but knows that it's actually cubic zirconia, which is worth much less.

The couple buying the ring later find out that the ring is not a diamond and they have been victims of fraud.

They bought the ring in good faith, but the person selling it was making a false representation and therefore committing fraud.

So it can mean representing a thing or a person in a way that they know is untrue.

Failing to provide legally required information is also considered fraud.

For example, a homeowner selling the house is aware of a serious foundation issue, but they deliberately hide it by painting over cracks and concealing damage.

They lie to the buyers and say that the house is in perfect condition, leading the buyer to purchase it at full market value, meaning they pay more than it's actually worth.

Later, the people that bought the property discover the hidden structural problems. This requires very expensive repairs.

The homeowner has committed fraud because they've not provided legally required information about the safety features of the house.

An example of fraud by abuse of position could be a manager at a building company is responsible for awarding contracts for construction projects.

Instead of following fair bidding procedures, they secretly make sure that a friend's company wins multiple contracts, despite the company being unqualified and charging inflated prices.

The manager receives money from his friend in return and doesn't tell the owner of the company.

This manager has committed fraud.

He has abused his position of power and been dishonest to gain something from the situation.

Let's put this into practise.

Match the type of fraud with the correct example.

Pause your video and have a go at this now.

let's check our answers.

False representation means lying about a ring having a diamond in it.

Failure to disclose information is a homeowner covering up defects in their house before selling.

Abuse of power is a manager giving friends contracts and profiting from it.

Well done if you've got those correct.

Let's put this into practise.

I'd like you to read the scenarios, and for each one, explain what type of fraud is taking place, and why this would be classified as fraud.

The first scenario is Gemma was a carer for a 95-year-old man.

He trusted her to go shopping for him and gave her his bank card and PIN.

Gemma took advantage of this and stole over 5,000 pounds.

Pause your video and have a go at explaining this now.

Let's check our answers.

You might have said "This scenario is an example of fraud by abusive position." Gemma was in a position of trust as Burt's carer, but used that trust to steal his money.

This is fraud because she abused her position of power to take advantage of someone vulnerable.

She acted dishonestly for personal gain, which makes it fraud.

Let's do another one.

Ahmed gets a call from someone claiming to be the police saying they had arrested someone with his bank card.

They ask Ahmed for his details to check it's his card.

They steal his details and take all of the money in his account.

Pause a video and have a go at this now.

Your answer might have looked like this.

This is an example of fraud by representation.

Ahmed was tricked into giving his bank details to someone pretending to be the police.

The fraudster stole his money by using his personal information.

This is fraud 'cause they deceived him to take money that didn't belong to them and made a financial gain.

Well done if you got that right.

Let's do one more.

Sachin, a bank manager, approves large loans to customers without telling them the interest rates can increase.

The customers end up with serious debt and legal problems. Pause your video and have a go at this now.

Your answer might have included some of the following.

This is fraud by failure to disclose information.

Sachin, a bank manager, approved loans without telling customers that interest rates could go up.

As a result, they ended up in serious debt and legal trouble.

This is fraud because Sachin deliberately hid important information to financially benefit the bank at the customer's expense.

Well done if you got that correct.

Next, we're going to think about how we can prevent online fraud.

We need to be aware of the different ways that fraud can happen, and that means that we will have an opportunity to protect ourselves and prevent it from happening on a larger scale.

As artificial intelligence advances, new forms of online fraud emerge daily.

Sometimes we hear artificial intelligence called AI for short.

By knowing what to look for, and what to report, and who to, we can help prevent and tackle fraud on a local, national, and global level, particularly thinking about how this can happen online.

Cybercrime refers to criminal activities that are carried out using computers and networks.

There are different examples of cybercrime and we're gonna think about a few of them now.

The first is phishing.

Not fishing like when you go out on a boat.

It's a little bit different.

Phishing means criminals use scam emails, text messages, or phone calls to trick their victims. The aim is often to make you visit a website, which may download a virus onto a computer or steal personal information.

For example, Maria receives an email that looks like it's from her bank, asking her to verify her account details.

She clicks the link and enters her login information unknowingly giving it to scammers who steal her money.

Another example of online fraud is pharming.

Again, not like farming you do when you're outside.

This is a type of scam where fraudulent websites or links redirect you to fake sides that look real.

This might trick you into entering personal details often than accessing your bank account.

For example, Liam tries to log in to his online shopping account, but a fake website that looks identical to the real one redirects him.

He enters his personal details and the fraudster steal his credit card information.

Authorised push payment fraud is another common cybercrime.

This is where victims are tricked into authorising payments directly from their accounts often through fake messages or calls.

For example, Cheung gets a call from someone pretending to be from their phone service provider.

They're asking him to authorise a payment for a new phone.

They follow the instructions only to later realise they've been tricked into transferring money to a scammer.

Cryptocurrency is a digital form of money that operates online without needing a bank or a government to manage it.

Unfortunately, we also have cryptocurrency fraud as a result of this.

This means fraudsters cold call targets and use social media.

They advertise get rich quick investments in trading in cryptocurrencies.

They convince the person to sign up to a cryptocurrency website and share their credit card details.

For example, Bella is convinced by an online advert to invest in a cryptocurrency scheme that promises high returns.

After sending a large sum of money, she finds out that the investment platform was a scam and her money has now gone.

Let's practise what we've done so far.

I'd like you to match the word with correct definition of the type of online fraud.

Pause your video and have a go at this.

Now.

Let's check our answers.

Phishing is tricking people into giving personal information through fake emails or websites.

Pharming is redirecting users to fake websites to steal information.

APP is tricking people into approving a fraudulent payment, and cryptocurrency fraud is scamming people through fake cryptocurrency investments.

Well done if you've got those correct.

The Fraud Act 2006 covers fraud law in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, fraud is mainly handled under common law.

That means that it's based on customs or court decisions and various statutory offences, including common law fraud.

The Fraud Act is really important because it imposes penalties and sanctions for people who are found guilty of committing fraud.

You might get up to 10 years imprisonment for serious offences.

In 2012, the act was amended, changed to specify that fines are no longer considered an appropriate punishment for fraud.

Some people say that we need to therefore reform the law to make the harsher.

That might help to prevent online fraud.

Izzy's giving us her perspective on this.

"I think we should reform the law across the UK and have the same one in each nation.

The punishments should definitely be harsher because of the devastating effect fraud can have on people.

I'd say about 15 years imprisonment for serious fraud." June's giving us their opinion.

"I think 15 years is a bit unfair.

I think 10 years is a tough sentence, and we should leave the law as it is." In the UK, citizens have more than just the law to protect themselves from fraud.

Action Fraud is a designated place to report fraud to the police and access victim support.

It's also home to the National Fraud and Cybercrime Reporting Centre.

If we all report fraud, we can tackle the issue and prevent others in our communities experiencing it.

For example, if we tell about something that's happened to us, it can help these different agencies advertise the fact that a scam is going on, and that means it might not happen to the next person.

Let's do another check.

What is the name of the designated place to report fraud to the police and access victim support? Pause your video and have a go at this now.

The correct answer is Action Fraud.

Banks also have dedicated teams to investigate customer accounts that are affected by fraud.

Specifically trained staff might be able to stop transactions and put protections in place on accounts.

If you're a target of fraudsters, it's really important that you tell your bank straight away.

They can help you if you're a victim of financial fraud.

Often they have protections in place to stop this from occurring in the first place.

Citizens can also follow the guidance of the National Cybersecurity Centre.

This was launched in 2016 to produce practical and accessible cybersecurity guidance, respond to cybersecurity instance, and reduce the harm caused.

They engage experts to nurture the UK cybersecurity capability.

They also help to secure UK networks.

They also prevent fraud across the UK by doing all of the above.

The UK government is also really invested in preventing online fraud.

They often run campaigns to tackle fraud.

For example, "Stop! Think Fraud" was launched in 2024 to help people recognise and prevent fraud.

It provides advice to citizens through an online hub, media adverts, and public awareness efforts.

As individuals, there's also things that we can do to protect ourselves.

Citizens can instal firewalls on their digital devices.

These are basically like security guards for your internet connection.

They block any suspicious data and protect you from hackers, viruses, fake websites, malware, and scammers that might be trying to steal your personal information.

Let's check what we've done so far.

True or false.

"Stop! Think Fraud" was a UK government campaign that used an online hub and media adverts to raise awareness of fraud.

Pause your video and have a go at this now.

The correct answer is true.

A key way to prevent online fraud is by spotting scams ourselves.

That means we need to be aware of what is out there.

Being informed and responsible as a digital citizen means that we use technology wisely.

We understand our rights, and we use this to protect ourselves online.

Some Oak National Academy pupils have learned valuable tips to help you stay safe and avoid scams. Laura is telling us, "You have to be responsible and aware of people contacting you if you don't know them.

If you don't know them, why are they trying to contact you?" Think this through.

Andeep says, if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

If somebody's contacting you saying they want to give you lots of money, for example, we need to be critical and think, "Why would that be the case?" It's probably not that likely, so it's probably not true.

Jacob says, don't give out your bank details, and shred them if they're written down.

That means that nobody else will have access to them.

Izzy says, "Never give all of your bank details to someone else.

The bank rarely phone, but if they do, they'll only ask you for bits of information, not for all of it." Sam is saying, "don't be pressured into purchasing something or giving someone money, particularly if they're trying to rush you." Luca says, "Check that you are using secure payment sites when paying online." You can tell they're secure if they have HTTPS at the start.

Use scam-checking websites and online search engines to clarify if the offer is real or if it's a scam, and never click on a link from somewhere or someone you don't recognise or trust.

Again, some really nice pieces of advice to help us stay safe online.

It's really important that if you think online fraud or fraud of any kind is taking place, you speak to a trusted adult.

Fraud is a really serious crime, and without citizens reporting it, the problem is only going to get worse.

You can report fraud to any trusted adult.

It might also be a good idea to report it to the police online or by telephone.

This is so they can investigate and take action necessary to stop frauds and scams in the future.

Let's check what we've done so far.

Which of these is not likely to be a fraud? Pause your video and have a go now.

The correct answer is C, a phone call from your bank asking you for the last four digits of your bank account number.

This is because they're not asking you for all the information, which your bank will never do.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's put this into practise.

I'd like you to answer the following questions in paragraphs.

First, how can we prevent online fraud? And second, how can we stay safe from fraud? Try and use the keywords and lots of examples that we've looked at in today's lesson.

Pause a video and have a go at this now.

I asked you to think about what we've learned today and answer the following questions.

First of all, how can we prevent online fraud? You might have included some of the following in your answer.

As a society, we must try to prevent online fraud.

We can do this by being aware of the different types of fraud and cybercrime.

These include phishing, pharming, APP, and cryptocurrency fraud.

We can also prevent fraud by reporting it to the organisation, action fraud, and our banks.

If all citizens report fraud, we can tackle the issue and prevent others in our communities from being scammed.

Finally, citizens can also follow the advice shared in the UK Government's 2024 campaign, "Stop! Think fraud," and the guidance of the National Cybersecurity Centre, which was set up in 2016 to help prevent fraud by securing UK cyber networks.

Next, we were thinking about how we can stay safe from fraud.

You might have said there are many ways to stay safe from fraud.

To become informed and digital citizens, we need to improve our financial management skills and stay safe from fraud.

We can follow these top tips.

If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Don't give out your bank details and shred them if they're written down.

Don't be pressured into purchasing something or giving someone money.

Use scam-checking websites and online search engines to clarify if the offer is real or a scam.

Check you're on a secure payment site when paying online.

Never click on a link from somewhere or someone you don't recognise or trust.

Instal firewalls on our digital devices to keep ourselves safe from hackers.

Well done if you included some of that in your answer.

Today, we have been learning how we can protect ourselves from fraud.

We have learned that fraud is when someone deceives others for financial gain and scams are a common way that criminals trick people into giving away money or personal information.

Online fraud can be prevented by recognising different types, such as phishing and APP and being cautious with personal details.

Organisations like Action Fraud and banks have specialist teams to help protect people from fraud and to investigate scams. UK government campaigns like "Stop! Think Fraud," raise awareness and educate people on how to prevent fraud and stay safe online.

To protect ourselves, we should avoid clicking suspicious links, verify payment websites, and never share financial details with untrusted sources.

That's the end of today's lesson.

Thank you for joining me.