Protecting Your Family From Scam Calls

You might be confident you'd spot a scam call. But would your mum? Your grandad? Your 16-year-old who has just got their first job? Scammers target whoever in a family is easiest to reach and most likely to trust them. A little planning now makes everyone safer.

Start with a conversation, not a lecture

People who feel embarrassed are less likely to ask for help or admit they've been caught. Frame it as "these criminals are very good at this, so let's agree some rules" rather than "don't be silly". Share examples of real calls; reading other people's reports on a site like Who Called Me Check is often more convincing than a warning.

Agree a few house rules

• No money moves because of a phone call. Not to a "safe account", not to a courier, not in gift cards.
• Nobody reads out a code. One-time passcodes sent by text are for the person who requested them and nobody else.
• Nobody installs anything a caller asks for. No remote-access apps, no "security software".
• It's always fine to hang up. Being rude to a stranger on the phone is never the wrong choice if you're unsure.
• Check with family first. Anything involving money, however urgent, gets a call to a family member first.

Use a family safe word

A newer scam involves messages or calls pretending to be a son or daughter who has lost their phone and urgently needs money. Some scammers can even imitate a voice from short recordings. Agreeing a family safe word, something nobody would guess, gives everyone an easy test: "What's our word?"

Set up their phones

• Switch on Silence Unknown Callers (iPhone) or spam filtering (Android).
• Add important numbers, such as their bank, GP and family, to contacts so they're easy to recognise.
• Register their landline and mobile with the Telephone Preference Service.
• For a landline that gets a lot of calls, consider a call-blocking handset.

Show them how to check a number

Sit with them and look up a number together on Who Called Me Check. Once they've done it once, it becomes a habit: unknown number, look it up, then decide.

Teenagers and young adults

Young people are targeted differently: fake job offers, "money mule" requests to receive and pass on money, investment and crypto tips on social media, and threats about leaked photos. Make sure they know that receiving money for someone else is a crime even if they didn't mean harm, and that they can come to you without being judged.

If someone has been caught

1. Call their bank immediately on 159 or the number on their card.
2. Change any passwords they shared and check for unfamiliar apps on their devices.
3. Report it to Action Fraud (or Police Scotland on 101).
4. Expect follow-up calls. People who've been scammed are often targeted again by fake "recovery" services.
5. Be kind. Shame keeps people quiet, and that's exactly what scammers count on.