The Holiday Visit Checklist

1 · At the table 10 minutes

• Pick a family safe word together. Something not on social media. Anyone calling in a panic must say it. A cloned voice can't.
• Agree on the call-back rule: hang up and call back on the number saved in your phone, never the number that called.
• Name the four scams to expect: the "grandchild in trouble" call, the fake bank fraud department, the missed-package text, and anyone asking for gift cards, crypto or a wire.
• Say it out loud: "No one will ever be angry at you for hanging up and checking." Shame is what keeps people on the line.

2 · On their phone 10 minutes

• Save the family's numbers as contacts with a photo, so real calls are easy to recognize.
• iPhone: Settings › Phone (on newer versions Settings › Apps › Phone) › turn on Silence Unknown Callers, if they're comfortable with unknown calls going to voicemail.
• Android: open the Phone app › Settings › turn on caller ID and spam filtering (Pixel: Spam and Call Screen; Samsung: Caller ID and spam protection).
• Turn on the carrier's free spam blocking: AT&T ActiveArmor, Verizon Call Filter or T-Mobile Scam Shield (free versions).
• Install pending updates for the phone and apps.
• Consider the default voicemail greeting instead of a long recording in their own voice. Fewer public voice samples, less to clone.

3 · Money safety 5 minutes

• Turn on transaction alerts in their banking app, so unusual payments show up right away.
• Write down the bank's real number from the back of their card, next to the phone.
• Talk about a free credit freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It's free by federal law and they can lift it anytime.

4 · Before you leave 5 minutes

• Put the plan where they'll see it: safe word card or a scam checklist on the fridge or by the phone.
• Agree who they call first if something feels wrong, and save that person as a favorite.
• Know where to report: their bank first, then ReportFraud.ftc.gov and, for online crime, ic3.gov.

General safety information, not legal or financial advice. Menu names differ by phone model and software version.