ComputingInternet safety20 min★★ difficulty

Passwords, scams and phishing

Most accounts get broken into because of weak passwords or tricky messages, not clever hacking. A few habits stop almost all of it.

Part of your national curriculum

Creativity and digital literacy: Understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including protecting online identity and privacy
Computer systems and networks: Understand the impact of digital technology on wider society, including issues of individual privacy and cyber security

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including protecting online identity and privacy

Key learning points

• Three random words
• One account, one password
• Spotting phishing
• If it goes wrong

This lesson at a glance

20 minutes
18 parts to scroll through
4 quick checks
Marked quiz at the end
Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

technologysafelyrespectfullyresponsiblysecurely

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 18 · Intro6%

Introduction

Part 1 of 18

Passwords, scams and phishing illustration

Visual introduction

Picture this

Passwords, scams and phishing

Most accounts get broken into because of weak passwords or tricky messages, not clever hacking. A few habits stop almost all of it.

In a nutshell

Understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including protecting online identity and privacy

What you already know

Part 2 of 18

Before we start

What you already know

You have, or will soon have, online accounts.

Key words

Part 3 of 18

Key words

Words you'll need today

phishing: A fake message pretending to be from someone you trust, to get your password or money.
two-factor authentication (2FA): A second check, like a code on your phone, as well as your password.
password manager: A secure app that creates and remembers strong passwords.
scam: A trick to steal money or information.

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 18

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1: Strong passwords

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 18

Learn

Three random words

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre recommends three random words, like TeapotRiverCactus. It's long, so it's hard to crack, but easy to remember. Never use names, pets or birthdays.

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 18

Learn

One account, one password

If one site is hacked, criminals try that password everywhere. Use a different password for every account, and turn on 2FA for email and games.

Quick check

Part 7 of 18

Quick check

Which is the strongest password?

Reset break

Part 8 of 18

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now

Quick check

Part 9 of 18

Quick check

Why use a different password for each account?

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 18

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2: Spotting scams

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 18

Learn

Spotting phishing

Warning signs: urgency ('your account closes today!'), a prize you didn't enter, odd spelling, a strange sender address, or a link asking you to log in. Don't click. Go to the real app or website yourself.

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 18

Learn

If it goes wrong

Tell a trusted adult straight away. Change the password, and report scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Being tricked isn't your fault. Scammers are skilled at it.

Quick check

Part 13 of 18

Quick check

A message says 'Claim your prize in 1 hour, click here'. This is probably:

Quick check

Part 14 of 18

Quick check

What does 2FA add?

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 18

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

Long beats complicated: TeapotRiverCactus is stronger than P@55w0rd.
Real companies never ask for your password by email or message.

Challenge round

Part 16 of 18

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

Mastery quiz

Part 17 of 18

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Passwords, scams and phishing

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

1. Where can UK scam emails be reported?
2. A safe way to check a suspicious 'log in' message is to:
3. If you've been tricked, you should:

Lesson round-up

Part 18 of 18

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Article

How a supermarket checkout knows the price

When a barcode is scanned, the checkout does not store the price itself. It sends the barcode number to a database and reads back a record: product name, price, whether it needs an age check. The record is the single place the price lives, so changing one row changes every till in the shop at once.

Problems come from bad data, not bad scanners. If two products share a barcode, or a price update reaches the shop overnight but the till holds an old copy in its cache, customers are charged the wrong amount. Shops check this with test transactions: scan a known item, expect a known price, record what actually happened.

Good systems also log every scan. If a customer complains, the log shows exactly which record was used and when.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

Write in your own words what the checkout sends and what it receives back.
Explain one way bad data could cause a wrong price, and how logging helps find it.
Design a test table with four tests for a new checkout, with expected and actual results.

Reading and notes
Reading
Read the lesson text again and note the key terms and how each one is used, in your own words — as you would for revision.
Half a page of notes
Extended writing
Writing
Explain a real system that uses this idea — how it works, where it can go wrong, and how you would make it safer or better.
250–350 words
Algorithm on paper
Diagram
Write your steps out as pseudocode or a flowchart before you type anything, then photograph it.
1 flowchart or 10 lines
Code write-up
Writing
Copy your code in, then explain underneath what each part does and what you had to fix.
Code + 5 sentences
Test table
Working out
Make a test table: what you tried, what you expected, what actually happened.
4–6 tests

Write your answer, notes or working here

Saved as you type.

Photos of paper work, diagrams or working outHow many minutes did the written work take?

Part 1 of 18 · Introduction

0 points

Playground

Safety Lab

Try it safely

Practise here — nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere. Never type a real password into a practice tool.

Password tester (make one up)

Scam or safe? (practice messages, made up)

From: prizes@winbig-free.co

CONGRATULATIONS!! You won a new phone. Click here in the next 10 minutes and enter your bank details to claim.

From: Your school (via the school app)

Reminder: Year 8 trip letters are due back on Friday. Hand them to your form tutor.

From: Securlty-Team@gamezz-support.net

Your game account will be DELETED. Log in here to keep it: gamezz-login-verify.net

From: A friend you know, in person

Hey, are you coming to the park later?

How this is going

Not looked at yet
Understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including protecting online identity and privacy
Not looked at yet
Understand the impact of digital technology on wider society, including issues of individual privacy and cyber security