Family safe word: how to choose one and use it right
By Trusterity · Updated 13 November 2026
A family safe word is a secret that proves a caller is really your relative. The FBI now recommends that families create one. Here is how to make it strong and how to use it under pressure.
Why families need one now
Voice cloning tools can copy how a person sounds from short recordings, and scammers use them to fake emergencies: an accident, an arrest, a lost phone. In its December 2024 public service announcement on generative AI fraud, the FBI described criminals using short audio clips that impersonate a family member in crisis, and advised people to create a secret word or phrase with their family to verify identity.
What makes a good safe word
- Not findable. Avoid pet names, street names, schools, birthdays, nicknames and anything you've ever posted. Scammers research their targets.
- Not guessable. One common word (“pineapple”) can be guessed or overheard. A random 5–6 word sentence can't.
- Easy to picture. “Wobbly walrus juggling pancakes on the moon” is absurd, which is exactly why it sticks.
- Easy to say. Words a grandparent and a teenager can both pronounce and spell.
Make one with the free generator → It picks the words with your browser's secure random generator and never sends them anywhere.
How to use it on a call
- Ask, don't tell. “What is the wobbly walrus doing?” If you say the whole phrase first, a scammer can simply repeat it back.
- Watch the reaction. Hesitation, “I forgot”, anger or “there's no time” are all signs it isn't them. Real family under stress still remembers a silly sentence.
- Hang up and call back on the number saved in your phone. Caller ID can be faked.
- No phrase, no money. Not for a bank transfer, a gift card, a courier pickup or a “lawyer” on the line.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sending the phrase in a family group chat “so nobody forgets”. Chats get hacked and phones get lost.
- Saying it out loud in public or on speakerphone.
- Never changing it. Change it after every use and at least once a year.
- Only telling some of the family. Grandparents are often the main target — make sure they have it.
Sources: FBI IC3, PSA I-120324-PSA (Dec 2024).
Questions
Should every family member have the same safe word?
It's simplest to share one phrase across the people who would send each other money. Larger families sometimes keep one per pair, for example one between grandparents and each grandchild.
Can I write the safe word down?
On paper kept at home, yes. Not in your phone notes, email, cloud documents or a photo.
Make your family safe word
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