Sources
Every number, and where it came from
Each question names its source on the answer screen. This page collects them, and separates what is measured from what is calculated from what is written for the game.
- Sources cited
- 89
- Questions
- 101
- Cards & messages
- 146
What the numbers are
Measured
Government statistics agencies, central banks and published market price histories — 89 sources in all.
Calculated
Standard arithmetic you can reproduce: compound interest, amortisation, future value. The question states the rate and term.
Invented
Only in Scam or legit. All 40 messages are written for the game; every company and domain in them is fictional.
Figures are point in time
Averages move. Where a question describes a particular year it says so in the question itself, and it stays true as a statement about that year. Where a figure is an average or an approximation, the explanation says that too rather than implying precision the source does not have.
If you spot a number that has drifted or looks wrong, it probably has.
Number check — 101 questions
- 4Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI data
- 3Future value of annuity at 8% a year
- 3ONS Consumer Price Index
- 3Yahoo Finance ^GSPC historical data
- 2CoinGecko BTC-USD historical data
- 2Rule of 72 approximation
- 2Standard compounding at 8% a year, monthly contributions
- 136 monthly payments of $15
- 15% minimum with a ₹500 floor, on a balance compounding at 3.5% a month
- 1Arithmetic at $8 per pack
- 1Arithmetic at 2,080 working hours a year
- 1Arithmetic at 260 working days a year
- 1Arithmetic over 480 months
- 1Arithmetic, plus 8% annual return assumption
- 1Bank of England household deposit rates
- 1Bankrate Emergency Savings Report 2024
- 1Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U
- 1Bureau of Labor Statistics usual weekly earnings
- 1CFPB payday lending research
- 1CoinGecko ETH-USD historical data
- 1College Board Trends in College Pricing
- 1Compound calculation at 3% a year
- 1Compound interest at 10% a year
- 1Compound interest at 20% a year
- 1Compound interest at 8% a year
- 1Compounded depreciation at 15% a year
- 1Compounding $10,000 at 3% for 40 years
- 1Compounding $500,000 for 30 years at 7% and at 6%
- 1Compounding at 7% a year over 10 years
- 1Discounting at 3% a year
- 1EPF at 12% of basic; EPFO rate 8.25% for FY 2025-26
- 1EPFO declared interest rate, FY 2025-26
- 1Experian State of the Automotive Finance Market, Q1 2026
- 1FDIC national deposit rate history
- 1Federal Student Aid portfolio summary 2024
- 1Fidelity retirement savings analysis 2024
- 1FTSE 100 index history
- 1FTSE 100 Total Return Index
- 1Future value of annuity at 6% a year
- 1Future value of annuity at 7% a year
- 1GOV.UK National Living Wage rates 2024
- 1Hitched National Wedding Survey 2024
- 1Income Tax Act Section 80C; new regime default from FY 2025-26
- 1Income Tax Act Section 80CCD(2), new regime
- 1Income Tax Act Section 80D, old regime
- 1Indian gold price history, 20-year CAGR of about 12–13%
- 1Indian personal loan rates of 8.75–24% p.a., 2026
- 1IRS Statistics of Income, Census income tables
- 1Kelley Blue Book average transaction price, July 2026
- 1KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey 2025
- 1LBMA gold price history
- 1Ministry of Finance small savings rates, Q2 FY 2026-27
- 1Monthly SIP compounding at 12% a year over 360 months
- 1Monthly SIP compounding at 12% a year, the Nifty's long-run rate
- 1MoSPI Consumer Price Index, 2026 readings of 3.2–4.8%
- 1National Association of Theatre Owners average ticket price
- 1National Education Association teacher salary benchmarks
- 1Nifty 50 Total Return Index, 20 years to February 2026
- 1ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, April 2025
- 1ONS average price data, British Beer and Pub Association
- 1ONS Private rent and house prices bulletin, July 2026
- 1ONS UK House Price Index
- 1PPF at 7.1% compounded annually over the 15-year term
- 1Published Indian credit card rates, 2.5–3.75% per month
- 1Rule of 72 applied to 6% inflation
- 1Standard amortisation at 22% APR
- 1Standard amortisation at 24.9% APR
- 1Standard amortisation at 3% over 360 months
- 1Standard amortisation at 5% over 300 months
- 1Standard amortisation at 7% over 360 months
- 1Standard amortisation at 9% APR
- 1Standard compounding at 6% a year, monthly contributions
- 1Standard EMI formula at 8.5% over 240 months
- 1Standard EMI formula; Indian home loan rates from about 7.1% in 2026
- 1Standard SIP compounding at 12% a year
- 1Standard six-month emergency fund guidance
- 1Student Loans Company statistical release 2024
- 1The 4% withdrawal guideline, applied to $1,000,000
- 1The Knot Real Weddings Study 2024
- 1Typical Indian FD rates around 7%; CPI inflation near 5%
- 1US Census Bureau, Income in the United States 2024
- 1US Department of Labor minimum wage rates
- 1USDA Cost of Raising a Child, inflation-adjusted
- 1Yahoo Finance ^GSPC monthly closes, dividends reinvested
- 1Yahoo Finance ^GSPC total return
- 1Yahoo Finance ^IXIC historical data
- 1Yahoo Finance AAPL split-adjusted data
- 1Yahoo Finance AMZN split-adjusted data
- 1Zillow, ApartmentAdvisor and Apartments.com national rent data, 2026
Stack or burn — 106 scenarios
Each card is either arithmetic shown on the card itself, or a stated assumption about rates and terms. External anchors — average credit card APR, typical employer match formulas, contribution limits and ISA allowances — are checked against the issuing body: the Federal Reserve, the IRS, and GOV.UK.
Scam or legit — 40 messages
Nothing here is a real message. The scenarios follow documented scam patterns — phishing, delivery fees, tax impersonation, advance-fee investment fraud, employment and tech-support scams — but every name, domain, address and number is invented, and no link in a mock message goes anywhere.
A build check fails if any domain outside the fictional list, or any phone number outside a reserved test range, ever appears in the data.