✅ PERSONAL FINANCE PROJECT ROADMAP (USE IF YOU NEED GUIDANCE)

“The Guru & The Debunker”

A step-by-step guide to completing your scam assignment successfully

✅ STEP 1 — RESEARCH YOUR ASSIGNED SCAM

Goal: Understand the scam well enough to (1) impersonate the scammer in your Guru video and (2) explain it in the Debunk.

✅ 1A. Start with credible sources (REQUIRED)

Use at least two of the following:

• FTC (Federal Trade Commission) – ftc.gov
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – consumerfinance.gov
• Better Business Bureau (BBB Scam Tracker) – bbb.org/scamtracker
• AARP Fraud Watch Network – aarp.org/money/scams-fraud
• State Attorney General site
• Bank/Credit Union educational pages (.org or .edu)

SOURCES THAT ARE NOT ALLOWED: TikTok, Reddit, Quora, Facebook posts, random blogs, “some guy on YouTube,” or AI-generated text pasted word-for-word.

✅ 1B. Research questions to answer

(This becomes the backbone of your Debunk.)

1. What is the scam?
2. How does it normally begin? (Email? Social media? Phone call?)
3. What does the scammer WANT from the victim? (Money? Personal Info? Financial Info?)
4. What psychological tricks are used? (Urgency, fear, romance, greed, authority, secrecy…)
5. Who do scammers usually target?
6. What are the red flags?
7. How can people avoid this scam?
8. What should a person do if they are targeted?

Your Debunk should answer ALL of these.

✅ STEP 2 — BUILD YOUR GURU CHARACTER (THE SCAMMER VERSION)

Goal: Create a fake guru IN CHARACTER who promotes and glorifies the scam.

Your Guru video must be:
✅ Animated/ Video recorded
✅ Talking / lip-syncing / avatar-based
✅ Confident, wrong, persuasive
✅ 20-60 seconds

✅ 2A. Create your Guru’s identity

You MUST include:

• Guru name
• A “brand” or “program” name
• Fake credentials
• Over-the-top personality style
• A confidence level of “delusional but convincing”

Examples:

• “CryptoLion, CEO & Founder of MoneyWolf Academy.”
• “Coach Cashflow Chad, Passive Income Legend.”
• “Dr. FAFSA-Free, PhD in Scholarship Maximization.”

✅ 2B. Script your Guru’s “Bad Advice”

Your Guru must explain:

1. What the scam is (but framed as “amazing opportunity”)
2. Why it works
3. Why “smart people” do it
4. Why the viewer should trust them
5. A fake success story
6. A product/course they want to sell you

✅ 2C. Include real scammer persuasion techniques

Your Guru MUST use at least 3 of these:

• Fake urgency (“only available today!”)
• Fake authority (“the government backs this!”)
• Emotional hooks (“I just want to help YOU win”)
• Scarcity (“limited spots available!”)
• Fear of missing out (“everyone else is making money but you”)
• Trust signaling (“I’ve been doing this for 15 years”)
• “Secret method” language (“they don’t want you to know this!”)

✅ 2D. Use one of these video creation methods

• Canva Talking Avatar
• Canva Puppetry
• CapCut animated presenter
• Video Recorded files (edit with any video editor you wish)
• Any other video/animation presentation format that you would like to use. Feel free to be creative!
• THE SIMPLEST WAY TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT is to have a friend act out your GURU SCRIPT while you film it in your phone, then come in with your own script, showing the guru video and debunking its claims, all as you videotape yourself. Easy!

✅ SAMPLE GURU SCRIPT (You Can Model This)

Example for a Fake Check Scam (wait! That has a watermark! Yeah, I know. Feel free to PAY to have it removed, if you want. You don't have to!):

“Hey future millionaires! I’m CashFlow Carly, founder of the CheckFlips Masterclass.
Today I’m revealing the SECRET banks don’t want you to know: You can get free money using extra refund checks!
It’s easy — step one, get a check from a friend of a friend. Step two, deposit it. Step three, send the extra back and BOOM — instant trust, instant cash.
I’ve taught over 12,000 students how to flip checks into PROFIT.
And today only, my $597 CheckFlips Pro Course is 90% off.
Don’t wait — opportunities like this don’t come twice. You deserve financial freedom!”

STATIC SLIDES ALONE ARE NOT ALLOWED.

✅ STEP 3 — CREATE YOUR DEBUNK

Goal: You switch OUT of character and explain REAL truth about the scam.

✅ Your Debunk (60–120 seconds) MUST include:

1. The official name of the scam
2. How the scam REALLY works
3. The psychological tricks the scammers use
4. Who is targeted and why
5. ALL major red flags
6. How to avoid or respond to the scam
7. Two or more credible sources
8. A calm, professional tone (Dr. Idz / Knurick style)

✅ SAMPLE DEBUNK SCRIPT

(Same scam as the script above)

“The previous video was promoting what is officially known as an Overpayment Check Scam.
In reality, no legitimate check arrives ‘too large.’ Scammers send fake checks, pressure victims to refund the difference, and when the check bounces, the bank withdraws the fake funds from your account.
The persuasion methods used include false urgency, fake authority, and fake testimonials.
Red flags include: anyone sending you money you’re not expecting, requests for refunds, and pressure to act before funds ‘clear.’
To avoid this scam, never refund money from a check you did not verify through your bank.
According to the FTC and BBB, consumers should wait 2–4 weeks for checks to fully clear and never use P2P apps or gift cards to refund strangers.
So while the Guru made this seem profitable, these scams cost Americans millions every year.”

✅ STEP 4 — FINAL CHECKLIST (BEFORE TURNING IT IN)

You must confirm that you have:

✅ GURU VIDEO

• 20-60 seconds
• Animated or talking avatar, video recording of yourself (or a friend) as presenter
• In-character scammer persona
• Promotes the scam
• Contains persuasion tactics
• Has clear audio
• Saved as MP4 or shareable link

✅ DEBUNK (VIDEO)

• 60–120 seconds
• Clear explanation of scam, while showing the scam video, just as Dr. Idz and Dr. Jessica do it.
• Red flags
• Real-world data (optional but helpful)
• Credible sources cited
• Professional tone
• Shows understanding of the scam

✅ SOURCE LIST (required)

• At least 2 credible sources
• URLs included
• No AI text copied directly