The goal isn't to turn your family into security professionals. It's to close the four most common attack paths before someone gets hurt.
Conversation 1 — The safe-word: If anyone calls claiming to be a family member in trouble, they need to say the family safe-word or you hang up. Pick something specific, memorable, and not guessable. Write it down. Test it. Update it if it gets shared publicly.
Conversation 2 — Gift cards: No real institution asks for payment in gift cards. Not the IRS, not your utility company, not tech support, not a bail bondsman. Anyone who does is a scammer. Walk away. Call a family member.
Conversation 3 — Links and attachments: When in doubt, don't click. If something seems important, close the message and navigate to the website manually. If you're not sure, call the family tech person before clicking anything.
Conversation 4 — Keeping secrets: Real organizations don't ask you to keep your account situation private from family. If someone tells you not to tell your kids or partner about a financial situation, that's the scam's manipulation — not legitimate advice.
Set a recurring 'digital safety check-in' — 5 minutes once a month where you review anything weird that happened online. Make it normal. Make it easy. Make it so they call you before they lose money.