Digital Literacy IQ: Privacy, Scams, and Fact-Checking

Q1. Which password choice best follows the FTC guidance represented in the research?
- A short password using a familiar phrase
- A password with at least 15 characters that combines uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols
- The same password reused across accounts
- A password based on a public personal detail
Answer: A password with at least 15 characters that combines uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols[[cite:1]]
Q2. What is a key benefit of two-factor authentication?
- It removes the need for any password
- It adds protection so a stolen password alone is not enough to log in
- It guarantees that every email is legitimate
- It prevents all software vulnerabilities
Answer: It adds protection so a stolen password alone is not enough to log in[[cite:2]]
Q3. You receive an unexpected text claiming there is a problem with your bank account and asking you to click a link. What is the safest first response?
- Click the link and check whether the page looks official
- Reply with your account information
- Stop and do not click, reply, pay, or share information
- Forward the message to everyone you know
Answer: Stop and do not click, reply, pay, or share information[[cite:3]]
Q4. How should you independently verify an unexpected message that might concern a real account?
- Use the phone number or website provided in the suspicious message
- Contact the organization through a phone number, app, statement, card, or website you already know is genuine
- Trust the caller ID or sender address
- Ask the sender to confirm that the message is real
Answer: Contact the organization through a phone number, app, statement, card, or website you already know is genuine[[cite:4]][[cite:5]]
Q5. Which combination is a warning sign of a possible scam?
- A message that allows time for independent verification
- An unexpected request that creates urgency and demands payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, or payment app
- A routine notification accessed through an official app
- A message that contains no request for information or payment
Answer: An unexpected request that creates urgency and demands payment by gift card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, or payment app[[cite:6]][[cite:7]]
Q6. What does the SIFT fact-checking workflow tell you to do first?
- Share the claim before it disappears
- Stop and check your reaction before immediately reading, believing, or sharing
- Accept the claim if it uses an official-looking logo
- Read only the original page more deeply
Answer: Stop and check your reaction before immediately reading, believing, or sharing[[cite:8]][[cite:9]]
Q7. What does it mean to read laterally when evaluating an online claim?
- Stay on the original page and read it repeatedly
- Leave the original page and search what other reputable sources, experts, or fact-checkers say
- Judge the claim only by its headline
- Check whether the page uses colorful graphics
Answer: Leave the original page and search what other reputable sources, experts, or fact-checkers say[[cite:10]][[cite:11]]
Q8. Which method is recommended for checking whether an image has appeared earlier or in a different context?
- Assume the caption supplies the original context
- Use a reverse-image tool such as Google Lens, Bing Visual Search, or TinEye
- Judge the image only by its resolution
- Share the image and ask followers whether it is authentic
Answer: Use a reverse-image tool such as Google Lens, Bing Visual Search, or TinEye[[cite:12]][[cite:13]]
Q9. If a claim is not covered by an established fact-checking service, what is a recommended next step?
- Treat the claim as true because no fact-check exists
- Search for the topic together with the words “fact check”
- Use the number of shares as evidence
- Rely only on the account that first posted it
Answer: Search for the topic together with the words “fact check”[[cite:14]]

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Digital Literacy IQ: Privacy, Scams, and Fact-Checking

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