The reflexes to keep next to the phone
Each reflex on this page is taken word for word from an article in the encyclopedia: those on the phone, computer and mail scams our “seniors” simulations stage. Print it, tick what is already in place, and keep it next to the phone.
On the phone
Set yourself a simple rule: never approve anything during an incoming call.
Article: Vishing (voice phishing)
Remember one sentence: your bank will never ask you to approve a transaction in order to cancel it.
Article: Fake bank advisor
Save your bank's number from your card, never from a call you received.
Article: Fake bank advisor
Remember that a government agency always accepts being called back on its official number.
Article: Fake government official
Agree on a family password to use for emergency calls.
Article: Voice cloning
At the computer
Remember that no software company contacts you about an infection it supposedly detected.
Article: Fake tech support
Never install remote-access software at the request of someone you didn't contact yourself.
Article: Fake tech support
Write down the contact details of someone you trust to call when in doubt.
Article: Fake tech support
Know which security software is installed on your machine: any other alert has nothing to do with it.
Article: Scareware
Learn how to close a frozen browser from the task manager.
Article: Scareware
Prizes, texts and mail
Remember the rule: receiving a prize never costs anything.
Article: Fake prize, fake lottery
Tell someone close about any unexpected financial good news before acting.
Article: Fake prize, fake lottery
Be wary of anyone who later offers to recover your money for a fee.
Article: Fake prize, fake lottery
Ask your carrier to block premium-rate services.
Article: Premium-rate subscriptions and SMS
Never reply to a text that has you send a word.
Article: Premium-rate subscriptions and SMS
Keep the official letters you receive: they carry the real numbers and references.
Article: Fake government official
The scams this checklist defeats
Practice on these scams
Fictional messages, to decide without risk.
- Simulation: ScarewareA full-screen alert claims the computer is infected and gives a number to call for help.
- Simulation: Fake prize, fake lotteryAn email announces a €850,000 win. A processing fee must be paid before the payout.
- Simulation: Premium-rate subscriptions and SMSA text message announces a prize to claim by calling a four-digit number.
- Simulation: MalvertisingWhile you're reading an article, a full-screen alert says 3 viruses have been detected.
- Simulation: Fake tech supportA full-screen alert announces an infection and displays a support number.
- Simulation: Fake government officialA settlement notice, with a case number and a 48-hour deadline.
- Simulation: Malicious Captive PortalThe hotel Wi-Fi login page asks for a bank card for a one-euro “deposit”.
- Simulation: Hacked security cameraYour security camera's app reports a sign-in from an unknown device.
- Simulation: Voice cloningA panicked call: the voice, which you recognize, asks for an immediate transfer for an emergency.
Step-by-step guides
- Verify who you are really talking toHow can I be sure the person contacting me is who they claim to be?
- I gave out my card details or a code: what to doI gave my bank card or a verification code to a scammer, what do I do?
- I let someone take control of my device: what to doI installed software or let a “technician” take control of my computer, what do I do?
If it already happened
- The first steps, in order: the emergency checklistThe first steps, in order, depending on what you gave away: money, bank details, a password, access to a device or an account.
- The “I clicked” assistant: the plan of steps for your situationTwo questions — what you did, how it reached you — and the plan of steps to take, in order of urgency. To print or send to someone close. Nothing is stored.
The other checklists
- The checklist for your familyA family password, a new number confirmed on the old one, talking about it right away: the rules that protect a family, on one page to print.
- The checklist for a small businessDual approval for transfers, IBAN changes confirmed on the known number, invoices without a purchase order: the procedures that protect a small business, on one page to print.