FAMILY SAFETY
A scammer can now sound exactly like your grandchild. Listening harder will not save you. One agreed word will.
Figures from the FBI, FTC and Justice Department
THE SCALE
$7.75B
reported lost to fraud — up 59% · 201,266 complaints
12,444
people lost more than $100,000 each
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 report published April 2026.
THE HONEST PART
Voice cloning reproduces a familiar voice — the catch in the throat, the way she says your name — from a short sample of ordinary audio.
There is nothing wrong with your hearing. You are being asked to detect something built to be undetectable.
So do not verify the voice. Verify the person.
RULE 1 OF 4
No pets, no children, no street you lived on. Those are the first things a stranger can learn about you.
RULE 2 OF 4
If it has ever appeared on Facebook, in an obituary, or in a school newsletter, it is not a secret. Assume the caller has read all of it.
RULE 3 OF 4
Two unrelated words — purple tractor, waffle Tuesday — are far easier to recall while frightened than something clever. Nonsense sticks.
RULE 4 OF 4
Not in a text, not in an email, not in a family group chat. A safe word that lives in writing is one hacked account away from being useless.
USING IT
“What’s our safe word?”
A real grandchild answers, laughs, or is annoyed at you.
A cloned voice does one of three things: hesitates, gets angry, or insists there is no time. All three are your answer.
Hang up. Call back on the number already in your phone.
THE FULL GUIDE
How to teach the word to someone who worries about forgetting, what to do in the first hour if money has already left an account, and a free printable card for the fridge.
Swipe up — free, no sign-up.