Stay Safe from AI Scams

Dear reader,

A frightening message can catch anyone. It may sound like family. It may look like your bank. It may arrive when you are tired or alone.

Scammers can copy voices, photos, names, and writing styles. You are not foolish if a message feels real.

This book gives you one calm habit:

Pause. Leave. Check. Tell.

Pause before you act. Leave the message. Check through a route you already trust. Tell someone what happened.

A chatbot is optional. It can make hard words simpler. It cannot prove that a bank alert or family emergency is real.

You stay in charge.

Take care,
Everyday AI

This book helps you stop before fear moves your money or secrets.

Rosa gets a message that seems to come from her grandson. It asks for money now. She does not solve the problem inside the message.

She pauses. She leaves the chat. She calls the number already saved in her phone.

1. Read one page that fits the message.
2. Do the three safe actions first.
3. Use a copy box only if it helps.
4. Check through a route you trusted before the scare.
5. Tell another person if you feel rushed or unsure.

A chatbot is never the checker. It cannot verify a caller, bank, photo, voice, invoice, or emergency.

• Prompt: words you type into a chatbot to ask for help.
• Copy box: a short set of words you may copy. Change anything inside square brackets.
• Paste: place copied words into a chatbot or message.
• Check: look again through a different route that you already trust.
• Official app: the real app you installed for your bank, shop, phone company, or other service.

A polished answer can still be wrong. A familiar photo can be stolen. A strange photo can be real.

Never paste passwords, payment details, one-time codes, ID numbers, private family facts, or suspicious links into a chatbot.

Do this now

1. Stop replying.
2. Do not send money, even as a test.
3. Call the person on a number you already had.

Rosa sees her grandson's photo beside a new WhatsApp number. The sender says his phone broke. He needs help tonight. He asks her not to tell his parents.

Speed and secrecy are warning signs. The photo proves nothing.

Do not: Share family names, travel plans, or a private check word in the chat.

Next: End the conversation and make your own call.

A real person may also ask for privacy. You can care about them and still check.

Do this now

1. Stop the private talk.
2. Save your money and secrets.
3. Call a trusted person.

A message says, 'Please do not tell Mum. I am embarrassed.' That sentence can make you feel cruel for checking. It is still safe to check.

Secrecy helps a scammer keep control. A second person can slow the pressure.

Do not: Explain your full checking plan. Long replies may reveal useful family facts.

Next: Call someone you trust. Read the message aloud without reading any code or private number.

Do this now

1. Hang up.
2. Do not press a number or transfer money.
3. Call your loved one yourself.

A crying voice sounds like Rosa's grandson. Another person demands payment. Noise and fear make the voice hard to judge.

A voice can be copied. A caller name can also be changed.

Do not: Use birthdays, pet names, schools, or other public facts as your only family check.

Next: Make a private family check plan during a calm call or visit.

If no one answers, call another trusted person. Waiting is safer than paying under pressure.

Do this now

1. Do not pay because of an image.
2. Do not upload the image to a random checker.
3. Contact the person another way.

Rosa receives a photo of a relative beside a damaged car. The message says he cannot speak and needs money.

Odd hands or shadows do not prove that an image is fake. A real photo can also support a false story.

Do not: Upload faces, identity papers, number plates, addresses, or private family photos.

Next: Call a saved number. Ask someone who can confirm where the person is.

Do this now

1. Do not tap the button or link.
2. Close the message.
3. Open the official app yourself.

A warning says your account will close in 30 minutes. The logo looks right. The writing is clear.

Logos and good grammar are easy to copy. The short deadline is there to push you.

Do not: Paste the link, account number, password, card details, address, or one-time code.

Next: Check inside the official app or use a number on your card or statement.

Do this now

1. Do not pay the new account.
2. Find an older record.
3. Call the supplier through that old record.

Rosa helps a parent with a bill for real home repairs. The email says the payment account changed this morning.

A real job does not make every invoice real.

Do not: Upload the invoice, signature, home address, customer number, or bank details.

Next: Confirm the work, amount, and change through a saved number, signed agreement, or older bill.

The number on the new invoice is not a separate check.

Do this now

1. Do not send a code.
2. Do not open the link.
3. Contact your friend somewhere else.

A close friend's account asks you to vote, lend money, or send back a code. The old photos are real. The request feels wrong.

Someone else may control the account. A code sent to your phone may let that person enter your account too.

Do not: Copy the code, link, or account details into your check-in message.

Next: Use a saved phone number or another old conversation.

A reply inside the same account is not a fresh check.

Do this now

1. Do not tap the delivery or refund link.
2. Close the message.
3. Open your usual shop or delivery app.

A text asks for a small redelivery fee. Another message offers a refund if you confirm your card.

The amount may look harmless. The real goal may be your card, password, address, or account access.

Check recent orders inside the app you normally use. If there is no matching order, do not pay through the message.

Watch out: A real order does not prove that the text is real. Some false delivery messages reach people who happen to be waiting for a parcel.

Stop here: Use the official app or type a known website address yourself.

Do this now

1. Put the message aside.
2. Find a route you trusted before it arrived.
3. Ask the company or person to check the claim.

A trusted route may be a saved family number, official app, bookmark, number on a card, or old agreement.

When you call, say: 'I received a message about my account. I did not use its link or number. Please check the claim through your own records.'

Do not read out a password, PIN, or one-time code.

Search results can show paid adverts or false support numbers. Start with something you already own or saved.

Stop here: If you cannot find a trusted route, ask a trusted person to sit with you. Do not return to the suspicious message for help.

Never send these to a stranger or paste them into a chatbot:

• passwords, PINs, or security answers;
• one-time codes;
• bank logins or full card details;
• passport, licence, or national ID numbers;
• wallet recovery words or keys;
• pictures of cards, ID, bills, or signatures;
• private medical or family details;
• live links from a suspicious message.

Removing a name is not always enough. An address, order number, or unusual family story may still point to you.

Use replacement words such as [family member], [company], [link removed], or [number removed].

If you already shared a secret, go to page 17. Act now. This is not your fault.

A chatbot may help make a long message simpler. Clean the text first.

1. Remove every name, link, code, number, address, and private fact.
2. Paste only the words that remain.
3. Ask for a plain summary.
4. Compare it with the original.
5. Check the story outside the message.

Do not: Ask the chatbot to verify a bank, caller, family emergency, voice, photo, payment, or link.

Next: Close the chatbot. Use a route you already trust.

Rosa realizes that she shared a one-time code. Her first feeling is shame. Her next action matters more.

1. Contact the real bank, service, or payment provider now.
2. Use its official app, your card, a statement, or a saved route.
3. Say what kind of secret or payment you shared. Do not repeat it.
4. Ask what can be stopped, secured, changed, or replaced.
5. Change affected passwords through the real service.
6. Report and block the scam account.

Do not: Wait for a chatbot to decide whether the scam was real.

Next: Make the official call now. Ask a trusted person to stay with you.

Consumer safety agencies warn that scammers can copy a loved one's voice. A short piece of audio may help them make an imitation.

They also warn about imposters who pretend to be family, banks, businesses, officials, or support workers.

• A name on a screen is not proof.
• A familiar voice is not proof.
• A photo is not proof.
• Good spelling is not proof.
• A small payment is not a safe test.
• A code is not something to share.

No chatbot can promise that a message is genuine. No image tool can settle every photo.

The aim is not to become a detective. Stop, leave the pressure, and check the story somewhere else.

PAUSE

• Stop before you click, reply, sign in, or pay.
• Notice fear, speed, secrecy, and odd payment requests.
• Take one slow breath.

LEAVE

• Leave the call, text, email, pop-up, or chat.
• Do not use its link, button, QR code, or phone number.
• Do not send a small test payment.

CHECK

• Call family through a saved number.
• Open the official app yourself.
• Use a number on your card, statement, or old agreement.
• Ask another trusted person to look with you.

TELL

• Tell the person or company being copied.
• Report and block the account.
• If money or a secret moved, contact the real provider now.

A scam may have perfect spelling and no threat. Check unusual requests, not just messy messages.

These pages explain common impersonation scams and the value of checking through a known route.

US Federal Trade Commission, March 20, 2023
'Scammers use AI to enhance their family emergency schemes'
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/03/scammers-use-ai-enhance-their-family-emergency-schemes

US Federal Trade Commission
'Imposter Scams'
https://consumer.ftc.gov/scams

Rules and reporting routes differ by country and service. Use the official consumer safety, police, bank, phone, or platform route where you live.

Do not open a source sent by the suspicious person. Type the known address yourself or use an official app.

A source page cannot verify the message in front of you.

Pause. Leave. Check. Tell.