NGPF Unit Review: Consumer Skills

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and core concepts from the NGPF Consumer Skills unit review, including consumer roles, spending decisions, dark patterns, comparison shopping, identity theft, scams and fraud, and ethical consumerism.

Influencer

A popular personality, often on social media, who promotes a brand's products, potentially swaying followers' purchasing decisions.

Comparison Shopping

The strategy of looking at various models and their features across different stores or sellers to find the best deal.

Dark Patterns

Website design strategies that make it difficult to cancel a membership or mislead users into making unintended purchases.

Phishing Scam

An attempt to steal personal information, such as passwords, by sending deceptive emails that appear to be from legitimate sources like banks.

Price Matching

A policy where a store agrees to match a competitor's lower price on the same item.

Subscription

A monthly or recurring fee paid to access a service or product, like a library of movies and TV shows.

Data Breach

When hackers break into a company's system and steal private information like customers' passwords or credit card numbers.

2-Factor Authentication (2FA)

An added security measure that requires both a password and a one-time verification code to access an online account.

Unit Price

The cost per unit of measure, such as per ounce or per liter, used to compare prices of packaged goods.

Internet Cookie

A small file stored on a device by a website to remember user preferences and browsing history.

Consumer Role

The part an individual plays in purchasing goods and services, and the impact of their decisions on others and the environment.

Spending Decisions

Choices made by consumers regarding purchases, often influenced by social media, influencers, and advertisements, which can be mitigated by decreasing these influences.

Identity Theft

The act of stealing a person's private information and using it without their permission, potentially impacting their life significantly.

Scams and Fraud

Deceptive schemes designed to trick individuals into giving money or personal information, identified by various warning signs.

Ethical Consumerism

Making purchasing decisions based on personal ethics and societal or environmental impact.

Commitment and Consistency Bias

A psychological bias where people are inclined to stick with a decision or investment, even if it's losing money, due to prior commitment.

Authority Bias

A psychological bias where people are more likely to be influenced by those perceived as experts or authority figures.

Social Proof Bias

A psychological bias where people adopt the actions or beliefs of others in a group, often seen with advertising claiming widely accepted trends.

Reciprocity

A principle of influence implying an obligation to give back when you receive something, often seen in free offers with an expectation of return.

Liking Bias

A psychological bias where people are more likely to be influenced by individuals they like or admire, such as beloved celebrities.

Scarcity Bias

A psychological bias where the perceived value of something increases when its availability is limited, such as 'limited stock' offers.

Roach Motel (Dark Pattern)

A dark pattern in which it's easy to get into a situation but very hard to get out of it, like signing up for a service but struggling to cancel.

Bait and Switch (Dark Pattern)

A dark pattern where a customer is lured by an advertised product at a low price, but is then presented with a more expensive alternative once engaged.

Friend Spam (Dark Pattern)

A dark pattern where a product or service asks for access to your contacts with a pretext, then spams them with messages without clear consent.

Pump and Dump Scam

A type of scam where a fraudster boosts the price of a stock using false or misleading information and then sells their own holdings for profit.

IRS Scam

A scam where individuals receive deceptive messages, often texts or emails, demanding immediate payment for outstanding tax bills, often threatening legal action.

Pyramid Scheme

A fraudulent business model where lower-level participants pay fees to higher-level employees, with profits coming primarily from recruiting new members rather than selling products or services.

Transaction Fee

A fee charged for fulfilling an order or processing a financial exchange.

Default Upgrades

A type of hidden fee where upgrades are automatically selected during a purchase process, and the user is charged unless they actively deselect them.

Undisclosed/Hidden Fee

A fee that was not explicitly communicated or was only discovered by the consumer on their own, often unexpectedly.

Drip Pricing

A pricing strategy where fees are slowly added or increased as a customer progresses through a checkout process, ultimately revealing a higher total price.

Surcharge

An additional fee, typically higher than the normal cost, applied to an item or service.

Excessive Costing

A hidden fee type where an item is offered 'for free,' but the consumer is charged an inflated fee for shipping or other related costs.

Factors influencing ethical purchasing

Elements that affect consumer decisions related to ethical considerations, such as environmental impact, labor practices, and sustainable sourcing.

Benefits of ethical consumerism

The advantages gained from making purchasing decisions that prioritize ethical standards, including supporting fair trade, promoting sustainability, and encouraging responsible business practices.