C. Planning and Financial Management to Help Meet Postsecondary Goals · Planning and Financial Management for Life After High School

Protecting Your Money and Getting Ready for the Financial Literacy Requirement

C2 C2.1About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can recognize common frauds and scams aimed at young people and protect my personal and financial information.
I can act as an informed consumer: read contracts, compare prices and know some of my rights.
I can explain what Ontario's financial literacy graduation requirement is, who must meet it and how it works.
I can make a study plan for the requirement's topics and practise scenario questions.

Words to know

fraud
Using deception to take someone's money, property or information.

phishing / smishing
Fake emails (phishing) or text messages (smishing) that try to trick you into clicking a link or sharing information.

identity theft
When someone steals your personal information (such as your SIN or banking details) to pretend to be you.

money mule
Someone who moves money for another person, often unknowingly, as part of a crime; it can lead to criminal charges.

multi-factor authentication (MFA)
A login that needs a second proof, such as a code sent to your phone, as well as a password.

unit price
The cost per unit (per 100 g, per litre, per item), used to compare products fairly.

cooling-off period
A set time after signing some contracts when you can cancel without a reason.

Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement
An Ontario diploma requirement, completed in Grade 10 Career Studies, for students who started Grade 9 in 2025-26 or later.

"Easy money, no experience needed!"

A message pops up: Earn $500 a week from home! Just receive payments into your account and send them on. For a student saving for college, it sounds perfect. It is actually one of the most common traps for young people: becoming a money mule, which can lead to frozen bank accounts and criminal charges.

Expectation C2.1 includes protection against fraud as a fundamental of financial responsibility. Financial fraud and consumer awareness are also two of the topics on Ontario's financial literacy graduation requirement, which this lesson explains at the end.

Common frauds and scams

Phishing and smishing: fake emails and texts pretending to be your bank, a delivery company, a streaming service or the government, asking you to click a link and "confirm" information.
Government impersonation: a caller says you owe the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and will be arrested unless you pay now. The CRA says it does not demand payment by gift cards, prepaid cards or cryptocurrency, and does not threaten arrest.
Job scams: you are "hired" without an interview, asked to pay for training or equipment, sent a cheque for too much and asked to send back the difference, or asked to receive and forward money or parcels.
Online marketplace scams: a seller wants payment first for an item that never arrives; a "buyer" overpays and asks for a refund of the difference.
Rental scams: a cheap apartment listing, a landlord who "is out of the country" and wants a deposit before you see the place. A big risk for students moving for school.
Investment and crypto scams: guaranteed high returns, pressure to act fast, or a new online "friend" with a can't-miss opportunity.
Identity theft: someone uses your stolen SIN, card or account details to open accounts or borrow in your name.

The red flags

Urgency and threats; something for nothing; requests for SIN, card numbers, PINs, passwords or one-time codes; payment by gift card, crypto or e-transfer to a stranger; links that do not match the real website; spelling errors; "keep this secret".

Four red flags in one message. When in doubt, do not click; go to the company's real website or app yourself, or call the number on your card.

Protecting yourself

Guard your information: never share your PIN, passwords or one-time codes with anyone, including someone claiming to be your bank. Give your SIN only when required (an employer after hiring, your bank for interest-earning accounts, the government).
Lock your accounts: strong, different passwords; multi-factor authentication; lock your phone.
Check often: look at bank and card transactions weekly; set alerts; check your credit report from Equifax and TransUnion once a year.
Pause and verify: hang up and call the official number; never use the number or link in the message.
If something happens: tell your bank or card company right away, change passwords, and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and your local police. Tell a trusted adult. Being tricked is not shameful; scammers are professionals.

Consumer awareness: being a smart buyer

Compare unit prices, not package prices.
Remember HST (13% in Ontario) and extra fees (delivery, service fees, "admin" fees).
Read before you sign: phone plans, gym memberships, apartment leases, "free" trials that renew automatically, and buy now, pay later plans (from Grade 9 math). In Ontario, you can cancel some contracts made at your door or away from a business's usual place within a 10-day cooling-off period under the Consumer Protection Act.
Check reviews and return policies, and keep receipts.
Watch for advertising tricks: "only 3 left", countdown timers and influencers who are paid to promote.

Worked example

Let's investigate a job offer

Amira, 16, gets a text: "Hi Amira! We saw your profile. You're hired as a remote Payment Assistant, $40/hr, flexible hours! We'll send a cheque for $2,500. Deposit it, keep $300 as your first pay and e-transfer $2,200 to our supplier. Reply with your SIN and banking details to start today." Should she take it? Explain using red flags.

Red flag 1: hired with no application or interview, from an unknown number.
Red flag 2: pay that is far above normal for a first job with no experience ($40 an hour).
Red flag 3: asked for her SIN and banking details by text. Real employers collect a SIN only after a proper hiring process, through secure paperwork.
Red flag 4: the overpayment pattern: deposit a cheque, send most of it away. The cheque will likely bounce days later, and Amira's bank would take back the $2,500, leaving her owing the $2,200 she sent.
Red flag 5: moving money for strangers is how money mules are recruited, which can be a crime.
Action: do not reply or click; block and report the number; tell a parent or guardian; if any information was shared, contact her bank right away and report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

No. It is a scam with at least five red flags. If she deposited the cheque and sent the money, she could lose $2,200 and be involved in a crime.

Ontario's Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement

Here are the facts, as published by the Government of Ontario and TVO (checked October 2026):

Who: students who started Grade 9 in 2025-26 or later must meet a financial literacy requirement to earn the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Students who took Career Studies before 2026-27 do not have to complete it, and some other students are exempt (for example, some who enter Ontario schools in Grade 11 or 12).
Where: it is completed inside the compulsory Grade 10 Career Studies course (GLC2O), starting in 2026-27.
What: learning modules and test questions developed by TVO, which schools administer. Students taking the course online or remotely must attend in person on the administration day, unless the course has secure online proctoring.
Passing: you need at least 70% on the modules.
Attempts: up to two attempts during the course; if you do more than one, the highest mark counts.
Course mark: the result counts for 5% of your final Career Studies mark (not included if you have already met the requirement or are exempt).
Topics (as listed by TVO): budgeting, interest rates, earning and saving, taxes, credit and debt, consumer awareness and financial fraud. The province says it assesses core financial literacy concepts from the Grades 1 to 9 curriculum, so your Grade 9 math financial literacy unit matters.
If you do not meet it after the second attempt: options can include another try outside the course under staff supervision, extra instructional support, or TVO learning activities (available from February 2027). An adjudication process exists for extenuating circumstances, such as being close to graduation.
If you fail the course but met the requirement, you do not redo the requirement. If you retake the course without having met it, you get two new attempts.
Transcript: once met, it is recorded on your Ontario Student Transcript.

Your teacher will tell you the exact dates and how the modules are set up at your school. TVO Learn posts learning modules and practice assessments; using them is the best way to get used to the real format. The questions in this lesson are practice written for this site, not official test items.

Every topic on the requirement is taught somewhere in this unit, building on Grade 9 math. Use this map to decide what to review.

How to prepare

Review the seven topics using the map above. Redo the worked examples in Lessons 5 to 10 and your Grade 9 math financial literacy notes (compound interest, comparing loans, budgets).
Do the TVO practice assessments with your class or at home, then review every mistake.
Practise scenario thinking. Expect questions that describe a real-life situation (a scenario): read the situation, find the numbers, decide what is being asked, calculate, then check if the answer makes sense.
Know your formulas and habits: percent of a number, simple interest I = Prt, compound growth A = P(1 + i)ⁿ, gross minus deductions equals net, income minus expenses equals surplus or deficit, HST × 1.13.
Plan two attempts but aim to meet it on the first. If you need accommodations from your IEP, talk to your teacher early.

Just for fun

I got an email saying I'd won a free cruise. The only catch: I had to pay for the boat.

(If a prize needs a payment, a gift card or your card number, it is not a prize.)

Hands-on activity

Scam-proof my family and build a study plan

You need: a phone or computer, paper, and a parent, guardian or older relative.

Scam hunt: with your adult, look through spam folders or blocked texts (do not click any links). Find two suspicious messages and list their red flags.
Security check: with permission, check that your own accounts use multi-factor authentication and that your phone has a lock. Help your adult check theirs if they want help.
Unit price check: at home or in a flyer, compare the unit price of two sizes of the same product. Which is the better deal, and is the bigger size always cheaper per unit?
Study plan: make a two-week plan for the financial literacy requirement: one topic per study session, the lesson to review, and a practice assessment. Put it in your calendar.

What to look for: red flags named correctly, a security change actually made, a correct unit-price comparison, and a study plan that covers all seven topics.

Your turn

List four red flags of a scam.

What is a money mule, and why is it dangerous to become one?

Name three things to do right away if you think you have been scammed.

Who must meet Ontario's financial literacy graduation requirement?

What mark is needed to meet the requirement, how many attempts are allowed in the course, and how much of the course mark does it count for?

Name the seven topics TVO lists for the requirement.

A 2 L carton of milk costs $5.29 and a 4 L bag costs $6.49. Which has the lower unit price per litre?

More practice: warm-up

What is smishing?

Should you ever share a one-time security code someone asks for by phone?

Which organization develops the modules and test questions for the requirement?

Where is the requirement recorded once you meet it?

What does MFA stand for?

More practice: on your own (practice questions written for this site, not official items)

Dev earns $18.00 an hour and works 12 hours a week. He is 17, so only EI (1.63%) is deducted. What is his weekly net pay?

Ella puts $1,500 in a GIC at 3.5% compounded yearly for 2 years. How much will she have?

A streaming service offers a "free 30-day trial" and asks for a credit card. What should a smart consumer do?

A store sells a $60 jacket at 25% off. What do you pay with 13% HST?

Your bank texts: "Unusual sign-in detected. Click here to secure your account." What should you do?

Challenge

Kyle owes $800 on a credit card at 19.99% a year. Estimate one month's interest if he pays nothing (use 1/12 of a year). If he pays only $25, roughly how much of that goes to interest?

A rental ad near a college shows a one-bedroom for far less than others nearby. The "landlord" is overseas and wants a $1,000 deposit by e-transfer before a viewing. Explain the red flags and what a student should do instead.

Create a two-week study plan for the requirement that covers all seven topics in six study sessions, naming one lesson or resource for each session.

Check your understanding

Quiz

A caller says they are from the CRA and you will be arrested unless you pay today with gift cards. What is this?

Which is the safest response to a text with a link about a "problem with your account"?

Who must meet Ontario's financial literacy graduation requirement?

What mark do you need on the modules to meet the requirement?

How much does the requirement count toward the Career Studies final mark?

Which item is cheapest per unit: 500 g for $4.00, 1 kg for $7.00, or 2 kg for $15.00?

A new online "employer" asks you to deposit their cheque and send most of it to a supplier. What is the danger?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation C2.1 includes protection against fraud, and the course prepares students for Ontario's Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement. Facts in this lesson come from ontario.ca (financial literacy education page, checked October 2026), TVO Learn's educator page, and school board letters (September 2026): students who started Grade 9 in 2025-26 or later; completed inside GLC2O from 2026-27; TVO modules and test questions; at least 70% to meet it; up to two attempts in the course, highest mark counts; 5% of the course mark; recorded on the Ontario Student Transcript; topics: budgeting, interest rates, earning and saving, taxes, credit and debt, consumer awareness, financial fraud.

How to help: Do the scam hunt together and share any scam attempts you have received. Ask your teen's teacher about practice assessment dates and accommodations if your teen has an IEP. Encourage them to use TVO Learn's practice assessments and review their Grade 9 math financial literacy notes.

Common difficulties:

Thinking "I'm too smart to be scammed". Scams are designed by professionals; the habit of pausing and verifying protects everyone.
Embarrassment after being tricked, which delays reporting. Make it safe to tell you right away.
Rushing scenario questions. Practise: read, find the numbers, decide what is asked, calculate, check.