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Camps · Money Camp · Day 2 of 3 · 3 hours

Day 2: Banks, credit and scams

Read the paperwork, respect credit and outsmart fraudsters.

Today's goal

By the end of today you can read a statement, explain minimum payments and spot the signs of a scam.

Agenda

Finishes at 12:00.
  1. Warm-upYour overnight tracker10 min
  2. LearnHow banks work and how to read a statement15 min
  3. ActivityStatement detective25 min
  4. LearnCredit cards: grace periods and minimum payments10 min
  5. ActivityThe minimum payment trap30 min
  6. BreakBreak15 min
  7. ChallengeSpot the scam30 min
  8. LearnIslamic finance basics15 min
  9. Case studyCase: Omar's laptop15 min
  10. ReflectMy protection rules10 min
  11. QuizDay 2 quiz5 min

The session

Warm-up · 10 min

Your overnight tracker

A quick look back at yesterday's spending log.

  1. Count how many purchases you logged and how many were wants.
  2. Circle one purchase you would not have noticed without writing it down.
  3. Share one insight, not the amounts.

Solo

Write three sentences about what your log shows.

Group

In pairs, each person shares one insight for 1 minute, then two pairs report to the room.

Related lessons: Tracking your spending

Learn · 15 min

How banks work and how to read a statement

A statement is the record of every payment in and out. Reading it monthly is basic protection.

  1. A statement shows the opening balance, each transaction with date and description, and the closing balance.
  2. Check three things each month: payments you do not recognise, payments that appear twice, and fees.
  3. If you see an unauthorised payment, the UK regulator, the FCA, says to tell your bank as soon as you notice and ask for a refund; in the UK you should raise it within 13 months.
  4. In the UAE, the Central Bank and police advise contacting your bank first, then the police, and if the bank's response is unsatisfactory, complaining to Sanadak, the Central Bank's dispute resolution unit (Gulf News). The bk-02 and bk-04 lessons explain that you must wait 30 calendar days after complaining to the bank before going to Sanadak.

Related lessons: How banks work and the main types of account, Opening and running your first account, Reading a bank statement and spotting errors, fraud and fees

Activity · 25 min

Statement detective

An illustrative October statement for a student account in AED. Find the problems.

  1. Copy the statement: 01 Oct opening balance 1,250.00. 02 Oct pay from weekend job +1,800.00 (3,050.00). 03 Oct supermarket 212.40 (2,837.60). 05 Oct metro card top-up 100.00 (2,737.60). 07 Oct streaming subscription 35.99 (2,701.61). 09 Oct cafe 28.50 (2,673.11). 09 Oct cafe 28.50 (2,644.61). 12 Oct ONLINE SVC 88X2 49.00 (2,595.61). 15 Oct transfer to savings 300.00 (2,295.61). 18 Oct phone bill 125.00 (2,170.61). 22 Oct ATM withdrawal, other bank 200.00 (1,970.61). 22 Oct ATM fee, other bank 2.10 (1,968.51). 28 Oct bookshop 64.75 (1,903.76).
  2. Check the running balance line by line with a calculator. Worked answer: closing balance AED 1,903.76; total money out AED 1,146.24.
  3. Find three things to query: the possible duplicate cafe charge (AED 28.50), the unknown 'ONLINE SVC 88X2' (AED 49.00) and the ATM fee (AED 2.10).
  4. If the duplicate and the unknown charge were both refunded, what would the balance be? Worked answer: 1,903.76 + 28.50 + 49.00 = AED 1,981.26.
  5. Write the three steps you would take for the unknown charge: check your receipts and subscriptions, contact the bank through its official app or number, record the reference.

Solo

Do the full check, then compare with the worked answers.

Group

Calculator checks balances, writer lists suspicious lines, checker verifies. First team to find all three problems and the correct closing balance explains its method.

Related lessons: Reading a bank statement and spotting errors, fraud and fees, Reading a bill and spotting errors

Learn · 10 min

Credit cards: grace periods and minimum payments

A credit card is borrowed money. How you repay decides what it costs.

  1. The CFPB defines the grace period as the time between the end of a billing cycle and the payment due date.
  2. If you do not pay the full balance by the due date, the CFPB says you lose the grace period: interest is charged on the unpaid amount and on new purchases from the day they are made.
  3. The minimum payment keeps the account in good standing. It is not what you owe.
  4. Card rates, minimum payment rules and fees differ by bank and are set out in each card's key facts document.

Related lessons: Credit cards: interest, minimum payments and grace periods, Credit scores and credit reports

Activity · 30 min

The minimum payment trap

Simulate repaying a credit card balance month by month. The terms are illustrative, not those of any real card.

  1. Assumptions: balance AED 2,000; interest 3 per cent a month on the balance; minimum payment 5 per cent of the balance or AED 100, whichever is higher; no new spending; no fees.
  2. Month 1 by hand: interest 2,000 x 0.03 = AED 60, balance AED 2,060. The 5 per cent is AED 103, so the minimum is AED 103 (above the AED 100 floor). New balance AED 1,957.
  3. Work out months 2 and 3 yourself, rounding to the nearest fils each month.
  4. Worked full result (computed month by month): paying only the minimum takes 31 months, with total interest of AED 1,094.59. Paying a fixed AED 300 a month takes 8 months, with total interest of AED 265.84.
  5. Bigger example from the bk-05 lesson: on AED 5,000 with the same terms, minimum-only takes 74 months and AED 5,280.53 of interest; AED 500 a month takes 13 months and AED 1,033.77.
  6. Write one rule for yourself about using a credit card in future.

Solo

Do months 1 to 3 by hand. If you know a spreadsheet, build the full table and check it matches the worked result.

Group

Each team does months 1 to 3; one team per row on a shared board. The facilitator reveals the full results. Teams then write a 'credit rule' poster in 5 minutes.

Related lessons: Credit cards: interest, minimum payments and grace periods, Loans, overdrafts and Buy Now Pay Later: the true cost, Avoiding debt traps: overdrafts, BNPL, payday loans and loan sharks

Break · 15 min

Break

Rest before the scam challenge.

  1. Move, drink water and get some fresh air if you can.
  2. Return in 15 minutes.
Challenge · 30 min

Spot the scam

Eight messages. Some are scams, some are genuine. Use the FTC's four signs and UAE police advice to decide.

  1. Learn the FTC's four signs: scammers pretend to be from an organisation you know; they say there is a problem or a prize; they pressure you to act immediately; they tell you to pay in a specific way, such as gift cards, crypto, wire transfers or payment apps.
  2. UAE police and the Central Bank say legitimate banks never ask for card numbers, online banking passwords, PINs or CVV codes, and warn against fake payment links and upfront fees for jobs (Gulf News).
  3. Card 1: 'Your bank account is frozen. Click this link within 1 hour and enter your card number and PIN.' Card 2: 'Congratulations, you won a phone. Pay a AED 50 delivery fee by gift card.' Card 3: 'Earn AED 3,000 a week from home. Small registration fee to start.' Card 4: a message in your bank's official app reminding you your card expires next month, with no link and no request for details.
  4. Card 5: a seller on a marketplace asks you to pay a deposit by bank transfer before you can see the car. Card 6: 'Your parcel is held. Pay AED 7 customs fee here.' Card 7: your school's usual email address announcing a parents' evening date. Card 8: a friend's account messages 'Can you receive money for me and send it on? Keep 10 per cent.'
  5. For each card, write scam or genuine and which signs you spotted. Worked answer: 4 and 7 look genuine; 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 show scam signs. Card 8 is a money mule request.
  6. Even for 'genuine' messages, never click a link: go to the official app or website yourself.

Solo

Sort all eight cards, then write how you would report Card 1 in the UAE.

Group

Teams sort cards in 15 minutes, holding up red or green slips as the facilitator reads each one. A different team explains the signs for each card. Praise teams who slowed down to check.

Related lessons: How scammers think: the red flags behind every scam, Phishing, smishing and fake calls, Online shopping and second-hand marketplace scams, Fake jobs, easy money and money mules, If it happens: what to do, step by step

Learn · 15 min

Islamic finance basics

Many banks in the UAE offer Islamic products. Here are the core ideas as concepts.

  1. Islamic finance prohibits charging interest, known as riba. The Darden School of Business notes there is no single agreed definition of riba, and scholars' interpretations differ.
  2. Murabaha: an asset is bought by a middleman and sold on, with repayment in instalments that include a pre-agreed markup (Darden).
  3. Ijara: a leasing structure, where the finance company owns the asset and leases it to you (Darden).
  4. Mudaraba, often used for deposits: one side provides capital, the other the skills, and the capital provider receives a share of the profits (Darden).
  5. Takaful: an Islamic alternative to insurance in which participants share risks through a common fund (Darden).
  6. Product details differ between banks and scholars may differ; check with the bank's Shari'a committee and a qualified scholar.

Related lessons: Islamic banking basics, Shariah-compliant investing: the key ideas

Case study · 15 min

Case: Omar's laptop

Omar, 18, in Abu Dhabi, needs a AED 4,000 laptop for university. He compares an illustrative murabaha offer with paying in cash later.

  1. Offer: a bank buys the laptop and sells it to Omar for AED 4,320, paid in 12 equal instalments. What is each instalment? (Answer: AED 360.)
  2. What is the total markup in AED and as a percentage of the price? (Answer: AED 320, which is 8 per cent of 4,000.)
  3. Alternative: Omar saves AED 400 a month from his part-time income. How many months until he can pay AED 4,000 in cash? (Answer: 10 months.)
  4. Discuss: when might paying over time make sense, and what risks should Omar check first (missed payments, fees, affordability)?

Solo

Answer all four questions and write which option you would choose and why.

Group

Teams answer in 10 minutes; two teams with different choices explain their reasoning.

Related lessons: Islamic banking basics, Loans, overdrafts and Buy Now Pay Later: the true cost, Budgeting for university life

Reflect · 10 min

My protection rules

Turn today's lessons into personal rules.

  1. Write one rule about checking statements.
  2. Write one rule about credit.
  3. Write one rule about messages that ask for money or details.

Solo

Write your three rules on a card and keep it in your wallet or phone case.

Group

Silent writing, then each team agrees one shared rule for a class poster.

Go to your journal

Quiz · 5 min

Day 2 quiz

Five questions on banks, credit and scams.

  1. Answer alone.
  2. Check the explanations and note anything to revisit.

Go to the day quiz

Your journal

Private, saved on this device only. Your answers stay in this browser. They are never sent to us, even when you are signed in.

Money Camp · Day 2: Banks, credit and scams · My journal

Day 2 quiz

Score 80% or more to complete Day 2.

1. According to the CFPB, what is a credit card grace period?

2. In today's simulation (AED 2,000, 3 per cent a month), what is the first month's minimum?

3. Which of these is one of the FTC's four signs of a scam?

4. In the UAE, who should you contact first after a suspected bank fraud?

5. In a murabaha, how is the price paid?

Overnight challenge

With a parent or guardian's permission, look at one real statement or bill together (without sharing it) and find the opening balance, one fee and the due date. Or read one scam alert on an official UAE police or bank website.

Sources

  1. CFPB: What is a grace period for a credit card?
  2. Financial Conduct Authority: Unauthorised payments from your account
  3. FTC (US Federal Trade Commission): How to avoid a scam
  4. Gulf News: UAE Central Bank and police issue alert against six cyber scams (2024)
  5. University of Virginia Darden School of Business: Islamic finance
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