“Porch Pirates AKA Delivery Theft” What do you know about Porch Pirates? Read the article and create a social media post to tell a friend about the problem or a solution. ![]()
Consumers love their Amazon! Even after porch pirates seem to get away with stealing shopper’s “delivered” online shopping purchases, it does not seem to slow consumer spending. Amazon looked into a theft ring that involved a delivery service (drivers) contracted by Amazon, stealing purchases and then reselling the stolen items.
Companies like Walmart and Amazon have found that consumers have not lost trust in these businesses, and continue to buy, allowing at-home deliveries to continue. Some online merchants will replace items not received by mail if you can prove that it was never delivered. Most businesses have turned to mail tracking services to ensure that their products are shipped out and they can be located in the shipping process; which in turn safeguards delivery of the item. Shopping online is always a risk. Write down what risks are involved when using the internet to purchase goods or services. Next to each item, provide a way to help minimize that risk. Circle the risks that you cannot minimize with additional proactive steps. What are the benefits to shopping online? Do you prefer to shop at a brick and mortar businesses, or buy online? Why? Have you ever had a negative shopping experience online? How was it resolved? Extension: Go online to your favorite online retailers and find out what their policy is regarding missing packages. Research at least 5 different merchant policies. Create a spreadsheet to analyze their shipping policies. Compare your results and list them as SAFE or UNSAFE for the consumer. Florida Financial Literacy Standards: SS.912.FL.6.1: Describe how individuals vary with respect to their willingness to accept risk and why most people are willing to pay a small cost now if it means they can avoid a possible larger loss later. SS.912.FL.6.9: Explain that loss of assets, wealth, and future opportunities can occur if an individual’s personal information is obtained by others through identity theft and then used fraudulently, and that by managing their personal information and choosing the environment in which it is revealed, individuals can accept, reduce, and insure against the risk of loss due to identity theft. “A Data Breach By Any Other Name Would Be Just As Sour” This article-based activity includes a student guide that allows for a self-paced experience. Check out the student guide or download it below. ![]()
What is your biggest fear when it comes to owning a credit card? Making payments on time? Not trusting yourself to stay within your limits to pay your bill off in full every month? Not letting the convenience of a “swipe” get to your head and embark on an adventure filled with debt? The least of your worries should be a criminal accessing your very own private information. Regardless of what we call a “data breach”- potential identity theft is just as unnerving. Unfortunately in our digital age, we need to be very aware and cautious when it comes to providing our personal information to others. What kind of sensitive information is super valuable to criminals? What kinds of things can someone do with that information? How can you protect yourself from being a victim of identity theft? Read the article attached and think about what happens when data thieves steal your name, social security number and birth date? ![]()
Record a list of steps to take when your personal information has been leaked. Partner with a classmate and create a tweet (240 character count) to educate the public on what a wise consumer would do if affected by a data breach. Be sure to use the hashtag #usfFinLitBlogPost if you decide to tweet your response.
Florida Literacy Standards: SS.912.FL.6.9: Explain that loss of assets, wealth, and future opportunities can occur if an individual’s personal information is obtained by others through identity theft and then used fraudulently, and that by managing their personal information and choosing the environment in which it is revealed, individuals can accept, reduce, and insure against the risk of loss due to identity theft. SS.912.FL.6.10: Compare federal and state regulations that provide some remedies and assistance for victims of identity theft. What happens when your smart home technology takes on a life of its own? Check out or download the student guide (.doc or .pdf) below.
Imagine sitting in your living room and hearing a mysterious voice on your Amazon Ring or Google Next speakers! How do you think this could happen? Check out this article on the Tampa Bay Times NIE Front Page Talking Points: What Consumers Need to Know About Security Camera Hacks. Based on the title, what do you think you will learn? For example, what is a hack? For example, have you heard about people hacking into computers and taking control of data? What do you think that has to do with security cameras? While you read, take note of things you think a consumer needs to know about security camera hacks. ![]()
What did you discover? How does this information impact you as a consumer? What did you learn? Based on what you learned, would you choose to buy or not to buy? Why? What is the opportunity cost of your decision? Conduct some online research about security cameras. How does research impact buying decisions? Now check out the news video about the same story. While you watch, take more notes. Here are three different perspectives from stakeholders: Ring (the company) says: "Ring believes when communities and local police work together, safer neighborhoods can become a reality." -- Yassi Shahmiri, company spokeswoman Critic (a technology expert) says: "Ring should be shut down immediately and not brought back. The privacy issues are not fixable with regulation, and there is no balance that can be struck. They are simply not compatible with a free society." – Max Eliaser, Amazon engineer Journalist says: "I spent a couple weeks using an Amazon Ring doorbell camera. I didn't like how it made me feel about my neighborhood, or how i thought it might make my neighbors feel about me." – Max Read, New York magazine writer and editor Which perspective do you think most fits the evidence you found in the article, video, and other online research you conducted? Do you agree with any of the three perspectives or did you create your own perspective, based on the evidence you found? You can use the graphic organizer below to build an argument. Then, you can either write an argument essay/blog post or have a debate with some friends or family members. ![]()
Extension: What do you think the government's role should be in these types of issues dealing with consumer products?
Florida Standards: Financial Literacy-
Dashed dreams are a reality when it comes to the lotto. Americans are spending about $70 billion dollars a year on lottery tickets. What percent chance do you think an individual has to score a winning ticket? Are the odds in your favor, or against you? Think for a moment about why someone may choose to spend money on the lottery. Here is the student guide to use with this post ![]()
Read the article “Lottery Dreams” and write down how you could use $273 a year instead of gambling it away. ![]()
Use an investment calculator, like one found at Calculator.net, https://www.calculator.net/investment-calculator.html and put the $273 in the calculator for the starting amount of the investment, with a modest return of 6% each year, entering $273 additional each year, how much could you have in 10 years? What about 20? What happened to the total from 10 to 20 years? Why did it more than double? Would you rather have a 1 in 175,000,000 chance at winning, or the total $273 invested over time?
Use the articles to create an infographic that looks like a lottery ticket.
Florida Literacy Standards: SS.912.FL.2.1: Compare consumer decisions as they are influenced by the price of a good or service, the price of alternatives, and the consumer’s income as well as his or her preferences. SS.912.FL.3.1: Discuss the reasons why some people have a tendency to be impatient and choose immediate spending over saving for the future. SS.912.FL.3.3: Compare the difference between the nominal interest rate which tells savers how the dollar value of their savings or investments will grow, and the real interest rate which tells savers how the purchasing power of their savings or investments will grow. SS.912.FL.2.5: Discuss ways people incur costs and realize benefits when searching for information related to their purchases of goods and services and describe how the amount of information people should gather depends on the benefits and costs of the information. SS.912.FL.5.10: Explain that people vary in their willingness to take risks because the willingness to take risks depends on factors such as personality, income, and family situation. SS.912.FL.6.1: Describe how individuals vary with respect to their willingness to accept risk and why most people are willing to pay a small cost now if it means they can avoid a possible larger loss later. |
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January 2022
CategoriesAuthorDeborah Kozdras, Ph.D. |