AI voice scam calls: the family safe word

A call from a grandkid, son or daughter in trouble, in their own voice, asking for money right now? That voice can be fake. The FBI says criminals "generate short audio clips containing a loved one's voice to impersonate a close relative in a crisis situation, asking for immediate financial assistance or demanding a ransom." California's Attorney General adds that AI voices "can sound very real because they are based on a sampling of someone's real voice."

Send this to your parents. The message is already written; you just pick who.

Text it to your parents

"Quick one: scammers can now fake my voice on a phone call. If "I" ever call asking for money, hang up and call me back on my number. Let's pick a family safe word. This explains it:"

1. Hang up. Then call them back on a number you know to be theirs, or call someone else who knows them (California DOJ). The FTC says the same: use a phone number you know is right to call or message the family member.
2. Ask for the family word, if you have one. No word, no money.
3. Don't pay the way they ask. Wiring money, sending cryptocurrency, or buying gift cards and reading off the card numbers and PINs are signs of a scam (California DOJ). The FBI: don't send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency or other assets to people you know only from a call or online.
4. Already paid or shared your bank or Social Security number? Call your bank now, then report it (below). California DOJ warns that shared bank or personal information puts you at risk of identity theft.

The FBI's first tip: "Create a secret word or phrase with your family to verify their identity." It takes two minutes at dinner or on a call:

• Pick a word or short phrase only your family would know. Say it out loud together so everyone remembers it.
• The rule: anyone who calls asking for money in an emergency gets asked for the word. A real grandkid won't mind.
• Save each family member's real number in Grandma's and Grandpa's phones, so the call-back is one tap.

• ReportFraud.ftc.gov (FTC).
• ic3.gov, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. The FBI asks you to include whatever identifying information you have about the people involved.
• Your local police, and the California DOJ.

AI voice robocalls are illegal: on February 8, 2024 the FCC ruled that calls made with AI-generated voices are "artificial" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (FCC).

Is this text a scam? · Zelle and Venmo scams · stop spam calls on an iPhone · Medicare scams this fall.

PJ, a local in Solana Beach, sets up the family plan in one visit: the safe word talk, everyone's real numbers saved as favorites, unknown callers silenced on the phone, and a fridge card with the steps above. It's part of the Parent Check-In Plan, $25 a month to start. Text PJ.

Sources: FBI IC3 alert I-120324-PSA (Dec 3, 2024) · California DOJ, avoiding scams · FTC, fake emergencies · FCC, Feb 8, 2024. Read October 12, 2026.

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This page is built every morning from public data by SideGuy, run by PJ, a local in Solana Beach. If something looks off, or you want a hand with your plans, text PJ at 858-461-8054. A real person answers.

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