🛡️ Scam Defense — Quick Reference

1. Your family code word

Pick one word only your close family knows — a shared private memory, never anything posted online.

Our code word:

• Urgency + secrecy + gift cards / crypto / wire / UPI = STOP.
• Hang up. Call back on a number YOU look up. Family? Ask the code word.
• Hanging up to check is ALWAYS okay. Real urgency survives a 2-minute pause.

2. Is this message a scam?

Any one of these is a reason to stop and check:

• Came out of the blue; pushes urgency, a threat, or a deadline.
• Wants gift cards, crypto, a wire, or to "move money to a safe account."
• Asks for an OTP / code, a password, or ID / bank details.
• Has a link to click, or comes from a "new number."
• Tells you to keep it secret; or promises a prize or "guaranteed" returns.
• An online-only friend or romance steering you toward an "investment."

→ Don't act under pressure. Verify on a channel you start. Never share a code; never pay on demand.

3. If you've already been scammed — act fast

• Sent money? Call your bank/card fraud line NOW (number on the card) — ask to stop or reverse it.
• Gave a code or password? Change it now, turn on two-factor (2FA), and call your bank.
• Gave remote access? Disconnect the device; change passwords from a different one.
• Report & write it down. US: reportfraud.ftc.gov / ic3.gov · India: 1930 / cybercrime.gov.in.
• Beware "recovery" scams — anyone charging to get your money back is another scam. It is not your fault.

4. Before you believe or share something

• Who's saying it, and what do they gain? Is there real evidence — or just a claim or screenshot?
• Does it make you angry or scared? Does it just confirm what you already want to believe?
• Could it be old, edited, or out of context? Do independent outlets or fact-checkers say the same?

→ Go to the original source. Cross-check (AP, Reuters, Snopes, PolitiFact). When unsure, don't share.