Ask Orbit · by Daan Bakker · 2026-10-19
How are you protecting your parents from AI voice-clone scams?
Read a BBC piece on AI scams and it got me thinking about my parents. Voice cloning means the old 'your grandson is in trouble, send money' call can now actually sound like the grandson. I've talked to mine about it but I'm not sure a single conversation sticks. What concrete things have you set up with older relatives, like family code words, call-back rules, or bank settings, and has any of it been tested in real life?
38 sparks · 18 comments
Comments
Curious Coder · 10 likes
Any urgency + secrecy + money combo = scam. I made my mom repeat that until she was sick of me
Daan Bakker · 9 likes
The best rule I gave my dad: hang up and call back on the number you already have. No exceptions, even if it sounds exactly like me
Oliver Smith · 0 likes
this is the one that actually works because it doesn't depend on detecting anything
Rizky Pratama · 9 likes
my parents now think every call is a scam including mine, which is its own problem
Kabir Khan · 5 likes
I'm more worried about myself tbh, under stress I'm not sure I'd think clearly either
Amir Tan · 2 likes
everyone thinks they're immune until 3am and someone who sounds like your sibling is crying on the phone
Grace Parker · 1 likes
honestly reducing what's public helps too. my sister posts videos of the kids talking constantly, that's free training data
Kabir Khan · 3 likes
yeah I had an awkward convo with my brother about his public youtube
Ethan Brooks · 0 likes
we have a family safe word. if anyone calls asking for money in a panic, they have to say it. my mom thinks it's silly but she remembers it
Maya Putri · 1 likes
safe word gang. ours is a dumb inside joke so nobody could guess it
Elif Yılmaz · 0 likes
same, ours is the name of a dog we had in the 90s
Grace Parker · 0 likes
my grandma got a call like this last year. she didn't fall for it but only because the 'grandson' called her the wrong nickname
Noé Petit · 4 likes
lucky catch, but the next version will get the nickname from facebook
Ethan Brooks · 0 likes
asked the bank to add a note and a delay on large transfers from my parents account. they were surprisingly helpful about it
Rapid Coder · 0 likes
didn't know banks did that, going to ask mine