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Verify a caller

Real family and real companies can wait while you check.

ON A CALL RIGHT NOW?

Take a breath. A real caller will wait.

  1. Say: “What’s our family word?”

    Then wait. Don’t give hints. A real caller just answers.

  2. Not sure? Say: “I’ll call you right back.”

    Hang up. Call a number you already had, from your contacts or the back of your card. Not one they gave you.

  3. Rushing you, or “don’t tell anyone”? Stop.

    That’s your answer. Hang up and call someone in your family.

Your family word

Scammers can now copy a voice well enough to fool a parent or grandparent. What they can’t copy is a word only your family knows. Set it up together. It takes about 10 minutes and costs nothing.

We never ask for your word, and there’s nowhere to type it. It stays between you.

STEP 1

Pick your word together

Sit together, or talk on a call you made. Choose two words that don’t go together, like “pickle lighthouse.” Odd is easy to remember and hard to guess.

Skip pets, streets, schools and birthdays, since those can be found online. Don’t text it, and don’t write it near the phone.

STEP 2

Who knows the word?

Add the people who might call. A nickname is fine. Use the number already in your phone.

STEP 3

Your card for by the phone

These are the rules. The word isn’t on it, so it’s safe to print, text or photograph.

  1. Ask for our word. Never say it first.
  2. Not sure? Hang up and call back on a number you already had.
  3. Rushing, or “keep it secret,” means stop. Call family.
  4. No one will ever ask for our word by text or email.
Add one person in Step 2 first.

STEP 4

Practice it once

On an ordinary day, call each other and ask for the word. Want a reminder? We’ll email you. It never mentions the word and has no link in it.

If remembering a word is hard

One rule works with no word at all: hang up and call back on a number you already had. If writing it down helps, keep it with important papers, never by the phone.

If you said the word to a scammer

It’s not safe anymore. Tell everyone who knows it, and pick a new one together this week.

SecureFi.AI is guidance, not professional legal, financial, medical, or security advice.