Understanding Phishing Scams: A Cyber Safety Lesson for High School

📚 Understanding Phishing Scams: A Cyber Safety Lesson for High School

This lesson plan provides a comprehensive guide for educators to teach high school students about phishing scams, their impact, and how to protect themselves. It includes objectives, materials, a warm-up activity, main instruction, and assessment methods.

Objectives

• 🎯 Define phishing and explain its purpose.
• 🕵️‍♀️ Identify common phishing techniques.
• 🛡️ Recognize the potential consequences of falling victim to phishing.
• 💡 Apply strategies to protect themselves from phishing attacks.

Materials

• 💻 Computers with internet access
• 🖥️ Projector
• 📝 Handouts with examples of phishing emails and websites (can be real or fabricated for educational purposes)
• ✅ Quiz or worksheet for assessment

Warm-up Activity (5 minutes)

• 🗣️ Initiate a brief class discussion about online safety. Ask students about their experiences with suspicious emails or websites.
• ❓ Pose the question: "What makes you suspicious of an email or website?" Gather a few quick responses.

🎣 Main Instruction

1. Defining Phishing (10 minutes)

• 🔍 Explain that phishing is a type of online fraud where criminals attempt to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, credit card details, and personal identification numbers (PINs).
• 📧 Show examples of real or fabricated phishing emails. Highlight common elements such as urgent requests, grammatical errors, and suspicious links.

2. Common Phishing Techniques (15 minutes)

• 🔗 Discuss how phishers often use deceptive links that appear legitimate but redirect to fake websites. Explain how to hover over links to preview the actual URL.
• 🚨 Explain the use of scare tactics, such as claiming that an account will be suspended if information is not provided immediately.
• 🎁 Describe how some phishing scams offer rewards or prizes to lure victims.
• 👤 Explain 'spear phishing', which targets specific individuals with personalized information to increase credibility.

3. Consequences of Phishing (10 minutes)

• 💔 Explain potential identity theft and financial loss.
• 🔒 Discuss compromised online accounts (email, social media, banking).
• 📉 Describe damage to reputation and credit score.

4. Protection Strategies (15 minutes)

• 🧐 Emphasize the importance of verifying the sender's identity by contacting the organization directly through official channels (phone, official website).
• 🛡️ Advise students to be cautious of emails requesting personal information. Legitimate organizations rarely ask for sensitive data via email.
• 🖱️ Teach students to hover over links before clicking to check the actual URL.
• 🔑 Promote the use of strong, unique passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
• 🔄 Encourage students to keep software and antivirus programs up-to-date.
• 🚫 Advise against opening attachments or clicking links from unknown senders.
• 📢 Highlight the importance of reporting suspicious emails to the relevant authorities (e.g., IT department, Anti-Phishing Working Group).

✅ Assessment

Use these questions to assess student understanding of phishing scams. Encourage discussion and critical thinking.

1. What is phishing, and what is its main goal?
2. Give three examples of common phishing techniques.
3. What are the potential consequences of falling for a phishing scam?
4. What steps can you take to protect yourself from phishing attacks?
5. Why is it important to verify the sender's identity before providing personal information?
6. What should you do if you receive a suspicious email?
7. Explain the importance of using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.