I did a couple presentations to some eighth graders this past Monday on the topic of common email scams like lottery and mystery shopper schemes, as well as having their parents check their credit reports to make sure nothing shows up.

I was surprised at how many of them had already encountered these emails, and I hope my message got through.

Another topic came up, however, during the Q&A portion of the presentations: those IQ tests that always show up on Facebook.

This isn’t the “Which Variety of Traditional German Sausage Are You?” tests. (Knackwurst, by the way, in case you’re wondering.) I’m talking about the IQ tests that appear as banner ads, with a few of your friends’ photos and the “score” they allegedly received, challenging you to beat them.

My quick advice is: don’t even click on those links. End of story.

The longer answer is this: if you click the link, it will take you to a website (not affiliated with Facebook) that asks you for your cell phone number, allegedly to give you your score. What it’s actually doing (if you read the fine print) is signing you up for a “service” with a monthly fee of $29.99. Then you take an idiotic IQ test, which is not even a little bit official, and wait until the charges show up.

I guess it’s not technically a scam, since you’re told (in very tiny text) that it will charge you, and I guess you’re signing up for something (though I’m not sure what). However, it’s sort of a dirty trick, if you ask me. These ads are aimed at teenagers, most of whom aren’t going to read the fine print.

This was the only real disconnect I had during the presentations. Some of the kids apparently believed that their parents wouldn’t mind paying an extra $360 per year for their kids’ cell phones. “It’s only a dollar a day,” one protested. Tough crowd. “Is this thing on?”

Yeah, it’s only a dollar a day. For a one-time IQ test that is in no way official and is not administered by a professional. I tried to emphasize that just because it’s on Facebook doesn’t mean you should trust it, and that these tests are essentially idiotic, but in the end had to admit to them, “Hey; it doesn’t matter to me if you want to get ripped off to take an idiotic test. If you think your parents will be thrilled to pay an extra $30 per month in this economy just so you can get your fake IQ score, then have at it.”

I think that might have woke them up a little. There was a short “I’m still processing what you just said, and realizing that you’re probably right” silence. I took that as a good sign.

All in all, a successful presentation, I think.