Family safety
How to create a family scam safety plan
A family scam safety plan does not need to be dramatic.
It needs four rules:
- No urgent money after one message.
- No codes shared with anyone.
- No links from surprise bank, delivery, tax, or account messages.
- If a message scares you, you can show it without getting in trouble.
That last one is the glue. People hide scams when they expect shame.
The family verification phrase
Pick a phrase only your family knows.
Example:
"What did we call the old blue car?"
Use it for new-number texts, AI voice calls, emergency money requests, and "do not tell anyone" messages.
No phrase, no money.
The two call rule
Any urgent transfer needs two confirmations:
- Call the person through the old saved number.
- Call a second family member.
This works for grandparent scams, fake child messages, AI voice calls, and bank "safe account" scams.
Phone setup checklist
- Turn on iPhone unknown sender filtering.
- Save important family and bank numbers.
- Put bank apps on the home screen.
- Remove stored payment cards where they are not needed.
- Turn on bank alerts inside the official app.
- Use a password manager.
- Prefer app-based authentication or passkeys where available.
The privacy boundary
Helping is not the same as watching.
Parents and kids both need a way to get help without feeling monitored. A good family safety setup should show that protection is active without exposing private messages, email content, senders, or subjects.
Practice the five common scripts
| Scam | Family response |
|---|---|
| Bank alert | "Open the app. Do not tap the link." |
| New number | "Use the verification phrase." |
| AI voice call | "Hang up and call back." |
| Delivery fee | "Check tracking from the official site." |
| Scary email | "Show me. You are not in trouble." |
Read next
- /us/blog/how-to-protect-parents-from-scams/
- /us/blog/how-to-protect-kids-from-scams/
- /us/blog/online-banking-activity-alert-text-scam/
Sources
- FTC, what to do if you were scammed: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-you-were-scammed
- FTC, recognizing spam text messages: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages
- Research on emotions and help needs during financial scams: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.06218