Draft — pending CSRF review. This is source copy. It has not been through editorial, safety, and link review, so do not print or distribute it to a community yet.
Email copy
Phone and text scams, for older readers
Written for a caller who sounds official and knows your name. Calm, and never blaming.
- For
- Older adults and caregivers, Libraries, Faith organizations, Housing and financial wellness
- Status
- Draft, pending review
- Version
- Set at review
Subject line
If someone calls asking for a code, hang up
There is a phone scam going around that catches careful people, so it is worth knowing how it works.
Someone rings. They sound calm and official. They may say they are from your bank, the government, or a company you use, and they often already know your name and address. They tell you there is a problem, and then they say a code is about to arrive by text — could you read it back to confirm who you are?
That code is the key to your account. Reading it out is what lets them in. Nobody legitimate will ever ask you for it — not your bank, not the police, not anyone.
If it happens, just hang up. You do not owe a caller politeness. Then ring the company yourself on the number on your card or your statement, and tell them what happened.
It is not embarrassing to be targeted, and it is not a sign that anyone is slipping. These calls are designed by people who do this all day. If one worries you, call us on [YOUR PHONE NUMBER] and we will go through it with you.
Still to fill in: [YOUR PHONE NUMBER]. Replace it before you send this.
Before you send it: The last paragraph does real work — people delay asking for help because they are ashamed. Keep it if you can.
Before you distribute this
- Use it: Senior center newsletters, caregiver emails, and printed bulletins.
- Replace every bracketed placeholder with your organization's own details.
- Open every web address yourself before printing it.
- Current warnings live at watchout.report. Check the date on anything time-sensitive.
Cybersecurity Reach Foundation · cybersecurityreach.org · Current warnings: watchout.report
General safety information. CSRF is not a crisis, legal, banking, safeguarding, or law-enforcement service.