Math 107: Consumer Skills (Financial Literacy)

What is a Pump and Dump scam?

• A scam that attempts to “pump” all your money from your bank accounts and “dump” it into a fraudulent account

• A scam in which fraudsters rapidly make purchases through your bank account in a short period of time

• A scam that involves a fraudster going through your personal mail to obtain your information before “dumping” it in the trash

• A scam in which a fraudster will boost the price of a stock based on false or misleading information and then sell the stock

2. Influencers can have a direct impact on consumers’ financial habits because they typically…

• Work with their followers to design products that consumers are likely to buy

• Encourage consumers to save money instead of spending it

• Rate and review products that their followers are likely to purchase

• Promote reusing and recycling items their followers may already have at home

3. Sean wants to buy a new backpack for school. Which of the following factors should he be LEAST concerned about when comparison shopping?

• The PRICE of the backpack

• WHEN the backpack was made

• The QUALITY of the backpack

• REVIEWS left by other consumers

4. Each of the following is one of the six ways of influence EXCEPT…

• Scarcity

• Blackmail

• Authority

• Social Proof

5. Which of the following is TRUE about recent trends in identity theft?

• Young people are never victims of identity theft

• The number of identity theft reports has significantly decreased over the past decade

• Most cases of identity theft result in a large dollar amount lost

• Multiple large organizations have experienced data breaches that have leaked consumer information

6. When deciding to follow an influencer on social media, the most important thing teens value is…

• How authentic the influencer appears

• The number of followers the influencer has

• Who sponsors the influencer

• The types of products and services the influencer promotes

7. Zach receives a notification from the IRS that he owes money. Which of the following indicates that the notification is real and not a scam?  

• The IRS calls him and demands he pay taxes he owes within 24 hours

• The IRS sends him a formal letter in the mail notifying him of taxes he owes

• The IRS texts him from an unknown number

• The IRS threatens to send local law enforcement if he does not send the money he owes in a timely manner

8. Which type of identity theft is MOST prevalent for people age 19 and under?

• Bank fraud

• Employment or tax-related fraud

• Loan or lease fraud

• Phone or utilities fraud

9. Which of the following is an example of the Roach Motel dark pattern?

• A website automatically signs you up for a paid subscription when you create an account but there is no easy way to cancel it

• A mobile app uses green buttons throughout to select NO but then suddenly changes it to select YES

• A banner ad has a fake speck of dust to trick users to click on it when they try to swipe the dust away

• A hotel reservation site tells you the number of deals you just missed by failing to book a room faster

10. An influencer is…

• An advertising agency that works with various organizations to promote their products on social media

• Any type of media (ad, article, picture) that convinces you to buy a product or service

• Someone who agrees to follow you back if you follow them on social media

• A person who has the ability to convince someone to buy a product or service by promoting it on social media