Most scams give themselves away. We teach people what to look for.
Free, plain-language sessions for older adults on fraud, scams, everyday cybersecurity and AI voice cloning.
Text message from +1 (929) 555-0184
Three giveaways, one message. See what they are
Every one of them is visible before you pick up the phone
Nothing above is a guess. Each of the marked phrases does a specific job, and once you know what that job is, the message stops working on you.
-
An exact, alarming figure
The figure, $1,842.00, is precise enough to feel like a real record and large enough to frighten you. Panic is the point: it gets you moving before you think.
-
A number supplied by the sender
Call it and you reach the scammer, not a bank. Your bank expects you to use the number printed on your card, and it will never object when you hang up to check.
-
An instruction not to hang up
Keeping you on the line is the whole scam. It stops you from calling anyone who would tell you the truth, and the truth is the one thing that ends it.
Three steps, and only the first one is yours
You tell us the basics
One short form: who you are, roughly how many people and up to three dates that would work. Two minutes, and the confirmation arrives right away.
Two minutes
We come back with a date
Within 3 business days a real person replies, either proposing a date or asking the one question we need answered first.
Within 3 business days
We turn up and run it
You get the final details and a calendar file. We bring the presenter, the material and the printed handouts. All you need is a room.
30 to 60 minutes
Whoever you are, there is a way to start
Have us come to you
Tell us who your people are and when they gather. We bring the session, the handouts and a presenter, and we fit the time you have, whether that is 30 minutes after lunch or a full hour.
Come to a public workshop
Open to anyone. Register with a name and an email. You get a confirmation, a reminder the day before and a one-click link to cancel in both.
Read it yourself, right now
The same material we teach from, free to read, print and pass around. No permission needed and no account to create.
Next workshops
Nothing on the public calendar right now
We schedule open workshops around the bookings we take from organizations, so the calendar fills and empties. Here are two things you can do in the meantime.
The patterns behind the calls, texts and knocks at the door
Every scam is a script. Learn the script and the surprise goes out of it. Each entry below lists the red flags and what to do, in plain words.
Gift card, wire and payment app demands
Whatever the story is, it ends with a request to pay in a way that cannot be undone.
PhoneGovernment impersonation: Social Security, IRS and Medicare
A caller or recorded message claims your Social Security number has been suspended, you owe back taxes or your Medicare card needs replacing.
InvestmentInvestment and cryptocurrency opportunities
Steady, impressive returns from a platform you had not heard of, often introduced by somebody friendly rather than sold to you.
Text messagePackage delivery and unpaid toll texts
A short text about a package that could not be delivered or a toll you supposedly missed, with a link to fix it.
The best person to warn a community is usually already in it
You do not need a security background. You need patience, a room full of people who trust you and a couple of hours to learn the material. We supply the rest and pair you with an experienced presenter for your first session.
What a session looks like
- Real messages, real voicemails, marked up on screen
- One rule people remember, not a list of 12
- Time for the question everyone is embarrassed to ask
- A printed one-page handout to take home and stick on the fridge