Set up a family safe word and a call-back rule, and know exactly what to say and do in the first minute of a panicked "send money now" call.
Swipe or tap Next · checked on 2026-10-31
Not technical? Start here. Copy this prompt into ChatGPT or Claude (the free versions work) and it walks you through the whole guide, one step at a time, in plain English.
It asks before it assumes anything and checks with you before anything that costs money, reaches real people or deletes something. It also knows never to ask for your safe word: that stays off the computer.
The rest of the page is the same guide, written out, if you'd rather do it yourself.
The walkthrough prompt (copy all of it) · lines 1-4 of 51. Copy all copies the whole prompt; read it in full on the page.
Hi! Please be my patient guide for this step-by-step guide from Receipts Group: "How to keep an AI fake of your kid from getting your money"
The guide is here: https://receiptsgroup.com/guides/family-safe-word (open it if you can; if you can't, everything you need is below).
About me: I run a small business and I'm not technical. Use plain words and short sentences.This is the manual way: every step, written out. The prompt above follows it too.
No money goes out until you've talked to them yourself. If it was a scam: ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and ic3.gov if money already went out.
I'd pick something that isn't anywhere online: not the dog's name, not your street, your team, a birthday, or anything you've ever posted. Scammers read your profiles too. Two odd words together works, and it's easy to remember.
Example (made up, don't use it): “purple gutter.”
Everybody who could get one of these calls: your kids, your spouse or partner, grandparents. Say it at the kitchen table or in the truck, not by text, email or a post. The whole point is it lives nowhere a scammer can read it.
Kid away at school? Tell them on a call you make to their saved number, not one they make to you.
Any call asking for money or help in a hurry, the person asking has to say the word. You never say it first and you never give a hint (“is it the dog thing?”). And it works both ways: your kid can ask you for it too.
If the word gets said out loud on a call, or you think somebody outside the family heard it, pick a new one and tell everyone in person again.
The call-back only works if you're calling a number you already had, not one the caller gives you. The FTC's advice is to call the person “at a number you know is theirs,” and if you can't reach them, to try another family member or their friends. So save both now, while nothing's on fire.
Go to the Contacts app, tap the Add button, enter the name and phone number, then tap Done.
Open the Contacts app, tap Add at the bottom right, enter the name and phone number, then tap Save.
Every kid, your partner, the grandparents, under their real names. Then one backup person for each kid you'd call if they don't pick up: a roommate, a partner, a friend, a friend's parent. Ask your kid for those numbers now, not during the call.
The FBI's list also says to limit online content of your image or voice, make social media accounts private, and limit followers to people you know. I'm not going to tell your teenager to stop posting, because that's not happening. The safe word is the part that actually protects you. But if anyone in the family is up for it, a private account means a stranger can't pull their voice off it.
The FTC says these scammers make it urgent, say you're the only one who can help, and ask you to keep it secret. “There's no time” is the scam. You've got time to ask one question.
“What's our safe word?” That's it. If they're your kid, they know it.
Say you'll call right back and hang up. Don't argue, don't explain why, don't stay on the line to see what they say next.
What to say
YOU: "What's our safe word?"
They say it right: keep talking, but if anything still
feels off, you can still hang up and call back.
Anything else (wrong word, no word, "there's no time",
"just send it", "don't tell anyone"):
YOU: "I'm going to hang up and call you right back."
Then hang up. Don't argue, don't explain, don't stay on the line.Open Contacts and call the number you saved. Not redial, and not a number the caller gave you. Caller ID can be faked, so your kid's name on the screen proves nothing.
Call another family member or their backup person to check the story, even if the caller said to keep it secret. The FTC says to do exactly that.
Not “just to be safe,” not while you try to reach them. The FTC's red flags are wire transfers, cryptocurrency, payment apps and gift cards (reading off the numbers on the back), because that money is hard to get back.
Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If money went out, also file with the FBI at ic3.gov. Write down while it's fresh: the number that called, the date and time, what they asked for, and how they wanted to be paid.
Do this the same day you pick the word. One person reads the caller's lines, the other answers like it's real. It's a little goofy, and that's fine, because the goal is that nobody freezes when it's not a drill.
Copy this: the practice call · Part 1 of 2 · Copy copies all 16 lines
PRACTICE CALL (free, 5 minutes, everyone in the room)
Caller reads:
"Hey, it's me. I'm in trouble, I need money right now.
There's no time, just send it."
The person answering has to:
1. Ask: "What's our safe word?"
2. Not give a hint.
3. Say: "I'm going to hang up and call you right back."
4. Hang up, open Contacts, and call the saved number.Copy this: the practice call · Part 2 of 2 · Copy copies all 16 lines
Then switch: the kids answer, a parent plays the caller.
Run it once more with the caller saying:
"I'm on a friend's phone, mine's broken."
(Right answer: still call the number you saved, then a backup person.)Good: they ask for the word with no hint, hang up, and call the saved number from Contacts. Bad: they give a hint, keep talking to argue, or call back the number that just called. Run it again until it's boring.
The text tells your family what's coming. The safe word is not in it, on purpose: you tell them that part in person.
The text to send your family (no safe word in it)
Quick family thing: AI can copy a voice from a short video now, and scammers use it to fake a call from family asking for money. So we're setting up a family safe word. I'll tell you what it is in person, not over text. If you ever get a call from "me" asking for money in a hurry, ask for the word. If I don't know it, hang up and call me back on my real number.The card goes on the fridge, or by the phone of whoever in the family answers every call. Fill in the backup names. The word never goes on it.
The family call rule card · Part 1 of 2 · Copy copies all 17 lines
OUR FAMILY CALL RULE
1. Anyone asking for money in a hurry
has to say our safe word.
2. We never say the word first.
No hints.
3. No word, wrong word, or "there's no time":
"I'm going to hang up and call you right back."
4. Call back from Contacts, on the saved number.
Not redial. Not a number they give you.
5. Can't reach them? Call:
____________________ (backup person)
____________________ (backup person)
6. No money on that call. No gift cards,
wire transfers, crypto or payment apps.The family call rule card · Part 2 of 2 · Copy copies all 17 lines
(The word itself never goes on this card.)Checked 2026-10-31. Nothing in this guide needs a paid app or service.
Still hang up and call back from Contacts. The FTC says scammers can make any name or number show up on your caller ID.
That's exactly why you call the number you saved, not the one calling you. No answer? Call their backup person.
The FTC says these scammers pose as authority figures too. Hang up and call your kid on the saved number. Don't pay them, and don't give them any personal information.
Tell them anyway. The FTC says to check the story with another relative or friend even when you're told to keep it secret.
Hang up and call back anyway. The FTC also suggests asking a question only the real person would know. Then run the practice call again so it sticks.
If anything still feels off, hang up and call back on the saved number. Being careful costs you a minute. Then pick a new word and tell everyone in person.
Keep trying the saved numbers and the backups, and don't send money until you've talked to them yourself.
Move fast. The FTC says: gift card, call the issuer at the number on the back and ask for a refund; wire transfer, call the wire company; payment app, Zelle or bank transfer, call the app or your bank and ask them to reverse it; crypto, call the exchange or ATM operator. Then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov.
What each page backs up is listed at the end of the full guide.
A copied voice can sound exactly like your kid, but it can't know the word. Ask for it, hang up, call back on the number you saved, and that “there's no time” line turns into your cue to hang up.
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Open the full guide as a page (every file in full, plus the table of contents).