Canadians reported nearly $3 million in grandparent scam losses in 2024. Criminals can now clone a voice from a short clip online. They cannot guess a word your family chose privately, in person, and never posted anywhere.
How to choose a safe word
- Pick something easy to remember but not obvious (not a pet’s name you post on Facebook).
- Keep it short: one or two words.
- Agree it in person or on a call you initiated, not by text from an unknown number.
- Practise once: “If anyone calls in an emergency, I’ll ask for our safe word.”
When to use it
Any unexpected call claiming a family emergency. Ask: “What’s our safe word?” A real relative will know. A cloned voice or coached scammer will hesitate, argue, or hang up.
Then hang up and call your family member back on a number you already have saved.
Talking to parents without sounding patronising
Frame it as a family security habit, like locking the front door. “There are new phone scams that sound like real voices. Let’s pick a word only we know, so we can always tell it’s really you.”
Sources: CAFC 2024 Annual Statistical Report; CBC News (March 2025); Safeguard Senior elder-fraud-canada-report (May 2026).