Lesson sheet · Module 17
Fraud, pyramid schemes and "getting rich quick"
The aim of the lesson
High returns without risk, pressure to decide quickly and "don't tell anyone" — these are the signatures of fraud. Stop, wait 24 hours, check the register, tell someone you trust.
- 👧 Child: the secret word is not told; we ask a grown-up.
- 🧑 Teenager: "where does the income come from?" and "can I get out?"
- 🧔 Adult:
- a 24-hour pause for any decision a stranger has led you to;
- the register before the transfer;
- the codes stay with you;
- report immediately.
Your step in Pecuvo: (1) In your wallet notes, make a "Checklist" with the five questions from Chapter 3. (2) Add a "Quarantine" space — amounts that are "on a 24-hour pause"; if after 24 hours it still asks to be paid, go through the checklist. (3) Save your bank's phone numbers and the addresses of your financial supervisor, your central bank and ESMA in an "Emergency" space.
The topic (chapters of the module)
- Chapter 1 · What fraud looks like from the inside
- Chapter 2 · Ponzi and pyramid schemes: the scheme that always collapses
- Chapter 3 · "Guaranteed high returns": the red flags
- Chapter 4 · Fraud on social media: fake advisers, fake faces
- Chapter 5 · Crypto fraud and "investment platforms"
- Chapter 6 · Loans, "buy now, pay later" and quick loans
- Chapter 7 · Bank fraud: codes, the "safe account", phishing
- Chapter 8 · How to check and where to report
- Chapter 9 · The law and the joke: what the Criminal Code thinks
- Chapter 10 · Your rights as a consumer and where to look for advice
- Chapter 11 · The regulators: who protects what
For the youngest · ages 6–7
🐣 The youngest: Sometimes someone promises lots of things, quickly and easily. Then you stop and ask a grown-up you trust. Secret words, like a password, stay at home. Asking is clever and brave. Grown-ups are happy when you ask them.
Play together (5 minutes): Play "Stop and ask". You are a talking robot and say different sentences: "Let's draw!", "Tell me the secret word and you'll get 10 sweets!". When the child hears something strange, they say "Stop!" and come to ask you. Celebrate every "Stop!".
A question for the evening: "Who can you tell when something seems strange to you?"
A game from the catalogue: KP-17 "What is only mine" — https://pecuvo.eu/igri/katalog/#kp-17 (in Bulgarian)
Questions for the class — 3 per level
- 👧 1. What do you do if a stranger asks for a password? 2. Why do we tell a grown-up? 3. What is a "secret word"?
- 🧑 1. What is the difference between a Ponzi scheme and a pyramid scheme? 2. What are the five steps of fraud? 3. What is a "safe account", and why is it a lie?
- 🧔 1. Why does 6¹³ show that a pyramid cannot pay everyone back? 2. Which five questions do you ask before you invest? 3. Where do you check the licence of a crypto provider and of a financial firm?
A 45-minute plan
- 5 min
- The question for the evening or one from “Check yourself” — what do the pupils think? No right or wrong answers.
- 15 min
- One or two chapters of the module at the level of the class (the “child · teenager · adult” buttons on the page).
- 10 min
- The game or the calculator for the topic — in pairs or on the board.
- 10 min
- The questions for the class. If you like, the open test — everyone writes down only their code.
- 5 min
- The iron principle in the pupils' own words and one small step for home.
Tools for the lesson
- The whole module on the website pecuvo.eu/en/modules/fraud-pyramids-and-getting-rich-quick/
- The open test (9 questions) — pupils write down only their code (e.g. K4B11), no names; the class distribution is shown on the same page pecuvo.eu/en/test/
- The Glossary — terms explained simply pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/