Lessons on Dangers of Online Scams and Plans to Expand Financial Literacy Programmes in Schools

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked the Minister for Education (a) what lessons are incorporated in schools to teach students about the dangers of online scams; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider expanding financial literacy programmes in schools to include lessons on common banking services, practices and safe habits on online banking.

In school, students are taught to guard against scams through various subjects and resources.

Character and Citizenship Education classes teach students to evaluate and verify the credibility of online information sources and to recognise and report different types of online scams, including phishing scams, online purchase scams and Internet love scams.

Food and Consumer Education classes teach lower secondary students to be a discerning consumer, exercise financial responsibility, and not fall prey to scams.

Social Studies classes teach students the impact of cybersecurity risks and are equipped with information and media literacy skills to critically evaluate different sources of information, both online and offline.

The Singapore Student Learning Space provides self-paced lessons for all students to learn financial literacy.

As scams constantly evolve, the Ministry of Education will continue to work closely with partners, such as Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams, the Singapore Police Force and other agencies, to promote anti-scam messages through talks and programmes in schools and Institutes of Higher Learning. Public education for adults would still be needed.