B2 – Upper Intermediate
All forms of scams are very rampant nowadays. It could be through phone calls, phone texts, social media messages, and so on. One of the latest scams is “smishing”. Everyone needs to be on the lookout for these schemes to avoid falling victim to them.
Read this article to learn about “smishing” and how to spot it.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/smishing-phone-scam_l_6554dd0be4b0998d699e5c0f
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “innocuous” mean? “In package smishing scams, the suspicious message can seem innocuous and read: “USPS: Since your package address does not have a house number, we are unable to arrange home delivery for you. Please update online,” the FTC shared as an example.” Give two synonyms and make a sentence with this word.
- Define “bogus”. “It is better to contact the company from their original website or phone number than to provide account information and login and password information from a bogus link.” Provide two synonyms and make a sentence with this word.
- What does “telltale”? “A ‘smishing’ message can seem like any other text message, but there are a few telltale signs that will warn you that something’s off.” Make a sentence with this phrase.
Discussion Questions:
- What is ‘smishing,’ and how does it differ from other forms of online scams?
- How can individuals identify potential ‘smishing’ attempts and distinguish them from legitimate messages?
- In what ways can raising awareness about ‘smishing’ and educating the public contribute to reducing the success of these scams?
- What measures do you currently take to protect yourself from phishing attempts or scams via text messages?
- Have you or anyone you know fallen victim to a text message scam and what was the outcome?