Bank accounts, fees, and protecting yourself from fraud

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card A. Compare chart "Kai's savings account, two years" (made up for practice), columns Year | Rate the account pays | How much prices rose: Year 1 | 3% | 1%; Year 2 | 3% | 5%. Note: invented numbers. Kai put $1,000 in on the first day of Year 1 and took nothing out.

2. 1.

   Ari reads Kai's card. In which year did Kai's money buy more at the end than at the start?

   • Both years, because Kai's balance grew by the 3 percent rate in each of them
   • Year 1, because the account paid 3 percent that year
   • Year 2, because prices rose more and the account kept paying 3 percent
   • Year 1, because the 3 percent rate was above the 1 percent rise in prices
3. 2.

   Bo says Kai's balance grew in Year 2 but its buying power fell. Does Kai's card back Bo?

   • Yes, because the account's rate fell in Year 2 from its Year 1 rate
   • Yes, because the account paid only 3 percent while prices rose 5 percent
   • No, because the card shows prices rising only 1 percent
   • No, because a balance that grows always buys more than before
4. 3.

   Esme reads both rows of Kai's card. Which claim do the two rows support best?

   • Kai earned more dollars in Year 2 than in Year 1 because prices rose
   • A savings account loses buying power in each year
   • The same 3 percent rate can gain buying power in one year and lose it in another
   • Prices rose in Year 2 because the account paid 3 percent
5. 4.

   Jun wants to judge whether Kai chose a good account. Which missing fact would help most?

   • What other accounts paid in Year 1 and Year 2
   • The size of Kai's first deposit
   • How much prices rose in the years before Year 1
   • Whether Kai's balance grew in Year 2

6. Use this

   Card A. Compare chart "Two invented checking accounts" (made up for practice), columns Account | Monthly fee | Cost of each out-of-network ATM use: Lite | $0 | $3; Plus | $9 | $0. Note: invented accounts. Both pay no interest and have no other fees.

7. 5.

   Kira uses out-of-network ATMs 2 times a month. Using card A, which account costs less in a month?

   • They cost the same, $9 each
   • Plus, because it charges nothing for ATM use
   • Lite, at $6 for the month against $9 for Plus
   • Lite, because each out-of-network use costs just $3 on this card
8. 6.

   Luz now uses out-of-network ATMs 4 times a month. Which account costs less, and why?

   • Lite: each extra use adds just $3, so it stays the cheaper account
   • They cost the same, because both reach $9 at 3 uses
   • Plus: at 4 uses Lite costs $12, which is more than Plus's $9
   • Lite: it still has no monthly fee
9. 7.

   Noah must pick one account. Which missing fact would most change the choice?

   • What Lite's fee for one use is
   • Whether Plus charges a monthly fee
   • How many times a month the person expects to use an out-of-network ATM
   • Whether the accounts pay any interest on the money kept in them each month

10. Use this

    Cards A and B on deposit insurance. Card A, "Deposit insurance" (in our words, from the FDIC, read Nov 14, 2026). Deposit insurance covers up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each ownership category. Money in several single-owner accounts at the same bank is added together. Card B, "Odette's accounts" (made up). Odette has $180,000 in a savings account and $90,000 in a checking account, both in Odette's name alone at Bank X. Bank Y is another insured bank.

11. 8.

    Pia reads cards A and B. How much of Odette's money at Bank X is above the insurance limit?

    • $180,000, because the larger account is the one that goes over the limit
    • $90,000, because the savings account alone is insured
    • Nothing, because each account is insured up to $250,000 separately
    • $20,000, because the two single-owner accounts add up to $270,000
12. 9.

    Ren moves $20,000 of Odette's money to Bank Y. What does the move change, using card A?

    • All $270,000 is then insured, with $250,000 at Bank X and $20,000 at Bank Y
    • Every dollar Odette ever deposits is insured as long as banks are insured
    • Nothing, because the limit covers each person across all banks
    • Only the $20,000 at Bank Y is insured, because the Bank X total is already past the limit

13. Use this

    Cards A and B on a scam text. Card A, "A text message" (made up): "Your bank has frozen your account. To unlock it, buy $400 in gift cards and send the codes in a reply within 1 hour." Card B, "Scam signs" (in our words, from federal consumer guidance by the CFPB and the FTC, read Nov 14, 2026). Real banks do not ask you to pay by gift card. Scammers often press you to act fast. Scam messages can arrive by text, email or phone call, and so can real ones.

14. 10.

    Zee gets the text on card A and wants a safe next step. Which step is safest?

    • Reply to the text and ask the sender to show it is the bank
    • Pay half now, to see whether the account unlocks
    • Block the number and skip checking the account, since the text was probably a scam
    • Call the bank on the number printed on the card, not the one in the message