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?

   • Year 1, because the account paid 3 percent that year
   • Year 1, because the 3 percent rate was above the 1 percent rise in prices
   • Both years, because Kai's balance grew by the 3 percent rate in each of them
   • Year 2, because prices rose more and the account kept paying 3 percent
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
   • No, because a balance that grows always buys more than before
   • No, because the card shows prices rising only 1 percent
   • Yes, because the account paid only 3 percent while prices rose 5 percent
4. 3.

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

   • 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: each extra use adds just $3, so it stays the cheaper account
   • Lite: it still has no monthly fee
9. 7.

   Milo compares the two accounts across different numbers of ATM uses. Which claim does card A support best?

   • Plus is the better account for any user, since it has no ATM fees
   • Plus costs $9 a month, so it costs more than Lite's $3 whatever the use
   • Lite is the better account for any user, since it has no monthly fee and each use is just $3
   • Plus costs less once a person uses out-of-network ATMs more than 3 times a month
10. 8.

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

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

11. 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.

12. 9.

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

    • Nothing, because the limit covers each person across all banks
    • 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
    • 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.

    Tala gets the text on card A. Using card B, which feature is the strongest warning sign?

    • It says the bank has frozen the account, which real banks also say at times
    • It names an exact dollar amount, which a real bill would leave out
    • It demands payment in gift cards, which real banks do not ask for
    • It arrives as a text message, and real banks do not send those