Real or AI? Money Safety in the AI Age
A voice message sounds exactly like a parent: “Send €50 now; I cannot call.” The voice could be cloned — and it isn’t proof.
Ready-to-print worksheets
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In the year workbook
My Money YearThis lesson has a companion in the printable year workbook: pupil pp. 171–172, teacher companion p. 138.
Learning objectives
- Give two reasons a familiar-voice message is not proof of who is asking
- Write the first two safe actions to take without replying through the message
- Explain why a polished video or correct spelling alone cannot prove a request is genuine
Vocabulary
- AI
- Computer software that can write, talk or make pictures like a person.
- Deepfake
- A fake video or voice made by AI to look or sound real.
- Verify
- To check that something is really true before you trust it.
- Voice Clone
- A copy of someone's voice made by AI.
- Red Flag
- A warning sign that something might be a trick.
Materials
Minute-by-minute flow
6′
Hook
Teacher does
Read the story: a fictional voice message sounds exactly like a parent and says “Send €50 now; I cannot call.” The voice could be cloned. Ask which card facts are known and what to find out.
Students do
Name the familiar voice, the urgent €50 request and the need for a separate check.
12′
Model
Teacher does
Think aloud through task 1: name two reasons the message should not be accepted as proof of identity — a voice can be cloned, and the urgent request with an inability to call are warning signs.
Students do
Give two reasons the voice is not proof.
18′
Practise
Teacher does
Set tasks 2 and 3: write the first two safe actions without replying through the message, and could a polished video or correct spelling alone prove it is genuine?
Students do
Pause and call a known number or ask a trusted adult through a separate route, and answer no — AI can produce realistic audio, video and text.
6′
Discuss
Teacher does
Surface the misconception: do not promise you can detect every AI fake by appearance — verification is the dependable habit.
Students do
Explain why spotting the fake is less reliable than verifying.
3′
Exit
Teacher does
Pose the reflection: what matters more than deciding whether a clip “looks AI-made”?
Students do
Say checking the request and identity through a separate trusted channel.
Check for understanding
Does the learner treat the cloned voice as unproven and verify the €50 request through a separate known channel rather than replying to the message?
Exit ticket
A message can sound exactly like someone and still be fake, so before sending €50 I first… (stop and verify through a separate known channel).
Support
Use a two-step card: STOP and CALL BACK on a known number.
Stretch
Compare a fake advert and a cloned voice; design one verification step for each.
Home connection
Agree a family call-back rule or safe word for any urgent money request — always verify through a known number, never by replying to the message.