This nearly happened to my grandma, but she became suspicious when the caller kept referring to her as "grandma." We call her something very different, so that essentially functioned as a secret word.
I actually did sort of the same thing, my friend calling for a favor forgot that when I asked where he wanted to go to lunch he was supposed to say "Taco Bell" and I refused to send him money. It pretty much ended our friendship. Oh well!
My mother as well. Caller said he was my son. Said he was arrested for speeding during Covid. Mom isn’t a fool. And she played with him a bit. Told him straight “somehow you got your drivers license and obtained a car during Covid? And you immediately broke the law. You’re just going to need to sit there and learn your lesson” The gasp was audible. My son doesn’t drive
I had fun with one of those. He was the "grandma" scam, and I don't have children. I asked which one are you? "Joe" he said. I played along, agreed not to tell his parents, but after ten minutes or so, I said I had one more question, "Jo, when did you have a sex change?" Cue spluttering, and me laughing as I hung up.
LOL. Haven't gotten that one myself, but have gotten amazing numbers of calls offering to renew my expired car insurance for the car I do not own because I have never learned to drive.
This saved me. I was at the laundromat when a guy flashed me. He then started to follow me home as I packed up my laundry. I didn't want to lead him to my home, so I ducked into a store. He was still listening as I dialed my husband (on a public phone--this was before cellphones.) I called my husband a predesignated wrong name, signaling that I was in trouble and needed him immediately. If I had said point-blank what the problem was, the bad guy might have punished me before my husband could arrive. My husband showed up with a fireplace poker and the creep ran off.
Someone almost got my elderly mother with; "Your son needs bail" She was headed out the door, but I was caring for her at the time, due to her being in a car crash a month earlier. It was clear she was upset about something, and she was in no condition to go out alone. I pressed the issue, she was afraid to speak about it. The "lawyer" said there was a "gag order" (common BS technique). So, I phoned my brother, handed my mom the phone... saved her $10,000
My mom did this decades ago and we've used it for my kids since they could talk. My childhood code was the name of my Cabbage Patch doll, to date how long we've done this.
I can remember when the code words for kids to know whether or not to go with an adult thing (whether known adult or not) was being pushed as a best practices thing for parenting (altho I don't recall hearing the very useful bit about immediately changing it once used) -- I don't know when it stopped being such but I've mentioned it over the years to parents and it isn't something most of them have heard of...unless it was something their family had done with them when they were a kid.
This one isn't a uniquely American problem. This has been a huge issue in Japan for years, with families creating sets of riddles that need to be answered correctly to verify the caller's identity.
You can always leave the country……it ain’t for everybody. I do have another answer for you tho…..disconnect from social media and don’t be “internet people”, disconnect from your normal “trusted sources” of news, take up a hobby, find religion, connect with Mother Nature. People lie to you and make the world seem so disgusting, but there is beauty to behold, you just have to look a different direction than they want you to look. Good tips in this video 👍 hang in there
Vermin are everywhere in the world, and any of them with a working Internet connection are happy to destroy your life if it means that they don't have to go get a job. This is in no way a solely American issue.
@@kerrytodd3753I can't leave without family and animals and there is no money for it nor would I disrespect the choice my grandparents made to come here. I hike, have hobbies and just got back on social media to connect and reconnect with friends and like minded folks. I can be tired and disgusted, embarrassed and angry. So far. Feelings are....all of them...are still allowed, for now.
This is great advice for older people. I had someone pretending to be the FBI telling me my son's car was in an accident in another state and that I needed to help him by wiring money to him. I told him I would contact my local police department, LOL! But with this AI it will make it much more difficult for all of us, so great advice Belle and I thank you!
My family had a secret word when I was growing up - long before cell phones. We had to use it twice. It was scary when it happened, but when the adult neighbor that I rarely saw and only sorta recognized showed up at my school and said I needed to go with them, I knew that they had talked to my parents and specifically were given the secret family word and instructions. Prepare by practicing it within your group that could need to use it, and if you're working with small kids, tell them the code words more than once, ask them from time to time to tell you what it is (assuring they remember it), instruct them to ask for the family word before going with someone, and tell them how to react (yell, scream "help", etc) if the person doesn't have the correct answer.
I wired money for a lady last week. She denied all of the "red flag" questions and the transfer proceeded as normal. I found out that she returned the next day, trying to undo the transfer, as she'd been scammed. I felt bad for her. Implementing a code word or phrase (particularly with elderly who are scammers' primary targets) is a good idea.
I got a call saying my 6 yo grandson had wrecked his car🙄🙄 and needed money wired to him. They obviously didn't know his age😂😂😂. But yeah, desperate times.
Just an FYI. My family and I. Have a code word in public. This is for when something doesn't feel right or someone seems suspicious. Think shooter situations. It could be for example. "OH we got to get to aunt Tammy's she's expecting us."
@@bookworm1956Agreed. My daughter spends a lot of time in Japan, including a semester abroad a few years ago. One of her favorite things about being there was not having to worry about the possibility of a school shooting. And every time she lands back in the US she says she feels the need to immediately get her guard back up. It breaks my heart and makes me mad. Good grief, what are we doing to the youth of this country.
This is also a good technique for those dealing with multiple contractors and family tensions, such as planning a wedding. Setting up a password to prevent a stepmom or cousin from changing or flat out canceling reservations has been suggested to brides for years in multiple online spaces I’ve seen.
Appalling that this is needed. But then I recall my spouse's brother maliciously cancelled our rehearsal dinner reservations way back in the early 1980s so I guess I shouldn't be surprised this kind of thing is pervasive now.
About two years ago I had a phone call from New Mexico telling me my son was in jail and needed bail. I played with him for about 40 minutes until I realized I had another appointment so I had to finish it real quick and I asked him are you sure this is my son? He said; "Yes." I told him he better check again because my son passed away so someone must be using his identification. Would you believe they hung up on me. My son then drove me to my appointment. I worry if I ever have Dementia or Alzheimer's what could happen so I am always on my guard when dealing with this annoying problem. Everyone that I love has a safe word as do I. Thank you for addressing this issue.
My Nan was scammed by something similar. But it was not a fake voice, they just said that my nose was broken so I sounded different. This can happen to anyone and the more SURE you are that it can't the bigger risk you are in of it happening to you.
I had this happen at my old job. The call felt weird. They (the owner) wanted sensitive information that they should have already had access to. I asked the question the Terminator asks when he calls John's adoptive parents. They immediately failed, and I realized it was a spoofed A.I. voice call.
@@roadswithbeau Good morning, to you, too! And thanks for all you do. And for putting up with the trolls and occasionally entertaining us by putting up with them publicly.
My kids and I were doing this when they were in grade school in the 1980's. There was a possibility of non-custodial parent abduction and it worked like a charm.
Thank you, Belle. How good to dedicate an entire video to this. In addition, I would like to point something out not related to the use of words as a security lock, but over here in Europe, there is a lot of QR code fraud going on. Especially with "on the go purchases." It may be that the QR code you scan to pay, refers to a completely different site and account and you are therefore being scammed. The advice we use to counter this is to always click on the browser link of the website that pops up, to check whether it is the company you want to pay for the product. And as I understood, everything that refers to a bit ly link is a complete no-go. Hope it's helpful as well.
Hi Mo, yes I agree we get that here in Europe. We also get the little messaging scam that says “hello mama…” And then continues in the local language about whatever the scam is. We laugh because my family messages in 2+ languages within the same sentence. I know that if I get a message in a single language, Somebody else is texting 😂 We’ll have to add a keyword into that scenario, thank you for the advice Belle!
@@msam2357 We do that as well. The best keywords, are the words used only by the people you trust and you made up together as a memory or a joke. In Dutch the word for a heron is; Reiger. Yet those close to me call it a: joepiejapio. 😂 I won't use this one but you know what I mean.
Contemporaneously applicable security tips also found in the French Resistance book "How to Survive 4 years of Nazi Occupation". Just in case Kash-App goes full Gestapo.
Way back before cell phones and the use of very expensive pay phones, I was a student travelling in Britain and Europe. I would check in occasionally with a collect call to my parents. The operator would ask the parent if they would accept a collect call from me at whatever location. My parent would say no because now they knew I was ok and where I was. Or they might accept if they had something they wanted to tell me. If I needed them to accept the charges because I had to talk with them I would have the collect call coming from my mother’s name. That was the code there was something important to tell them. I have a friend that will ask how the family cat is doing… there is no family cat but that is the pass phrase to identify her to her folks.
This happened to my sister. They said her grandson was arrested and needed money. In hindsight it was obvious, but love and fear are powerful emotions.
Some pubs in the UK have codes in the ladies restrooms. For example 'purple'. If you ask the bar staff for a purple cocktail they'll know you need to get away from the guy you are with. Is it the same in the US. I can't remember the last time I went to a bar!
Yes, the code is asking for an "Angel shot". The code includes on the rocks or straight up, depending on whether it's just let you out the back door and walk you to your car, or call security/the police, something like that.
Thanks for this. I’ve just shared it with my elderly mother and my nieces, one of whom travels internationally, in hopes it will help keep them all safe.
The best identification is something that doesn't stand out because there is a possibility of prior interception. Using a specific opening is the best because it doesn't stand out.
We taught our kids and grandkids a similar technique to protect them from being abducted. I tested my grandaughter and she failed! A lesson she never forgot because of it.
What about us old farts that can only remember our relatives name after we’ve been through the names of the whole family? Like my grandmother. She’d forget my name and call me my cousin and sister. It’s the only time I’d hear her say a curse word.
@ unfortunately she is no longer with us and now I’m the old fart trying to remember the names. We lived with her as we grew up and it was a wonderful childhood.
@@user-mad7max11dystopia I'm sorry she has gone but glad you have lovely memories. Reminds me of the day my stepmother said the word 'Hell'. She went bright red with embarrassment and left the room because - well, ladies didn't, did they?
If I haven't spoken to someone in a while, I'll ask them to tell me something only I would know. Or how, when, and where we met. And who else was there.
I remember my sister and I did this when we were latchkey kids in the 1960s. We would always make each other use the stupid sounding phrase our Mom came up with every time just to bust chops. Memories!
I like What 3 Words, a global location system accurate to a few feet. The challenge is a location, the response is the What 3 Words code for that location.
We could also just toss all our tech into the ocean, go back fifty years, and save ourselves a lot of time and money. I’m not really going to do that, but it feels good typing it.😂
only issue i can see with this is that a password that keeps changing is hard to remember, and writing it down is a giveaway both in the need to ["um... one second...."] look it up, and a risk of being misplaced.
Great -- start having my mother constantly check to see if I'm a synth... Not sure if I have it left in my soul to take another bite of soft-dystopian layer cake.
The only issue, especially in setting up multiple secret words, is both of you accurately remembering them in a few months, or a year or three down the road. Especially if you don't do regular refreshers. This is especially true if the other person(s) don't take the matter very seriously because they don't think it will happen to them and you're being paranoid/have watched too many spy movies/etc.
Good Explainer, Belle! ♥️ Your service background really shows here.. Peeps? Understand... (most) Capitalist Oligarchs don't G.A.S. about your well being, and haven't for generations... Remember Press Gangs...both the Dutch & English merchant & military marine/AND investors ("Industrialists" in time period speak) were happy users of the practice - THAT LONG - Case in point? EXPERIAN? They're not bankrupt (!!!!?!!), because us sheep "consumers" won't organize a Class Action aginst them, or against the thousands of companies who actively SELL our DATA? We've Agreed to be sheep...?
My former boss had a system with his children. They had a family whistle and if he could not see them or they got separated , he would whistle a certain melody and they were to respond with their melody. I don't know if there were other codes that their family used in their family. This was the only one that I witnessed being utilized. It worked great.
After the abduction of Adam Walsh became a big time national news story in 1981, there was a big movement on ways to protect kids from being kidnapped and GenXers under 12 got bombarded with all sorts of things like that -- because we were also latchkey kids and so had to have ways to protect ourselves, etc. Honestly, I guess it isn't surprising that that group of GenXers tended to become the first version of Helicopter Parents...
We had this in my family, so long ago that I do not even remember why. Ours was just calling and letting the phone ring twice, hang up, and then call back.
For Christmas, Is there anyway you can talk Beau into doing a joint reading with you as a holiday card to subscribers and followers to make our holidays a little bit better and as a gift of the channel kinda like something old Beau, something new Belle, because in these days the friends of the channel are blue enough. Very much appreciated 👍
Make them shocking words. Maybe swear words so bad you never say them, or something racist you would never say in any other situation. Songs sometimes work too. Like those old commercial lyrics you can never get out of your head. You remember those kinds of things better.
TV jingles, nursery rhymes. Everybody knows "up the waterspout," but only you and your partner would know the phrase is significant. Phrases are MUCH easier to remember than individual words, and they're just as good if not better for obfuscation. Pick a few and practice them whenever you're thinking about security - somebody gets their account hacked, you leave the keys in the door carrying in groceries, etc. Keep them fresh.
Do you have any inside jokes or unique stories? Maybe your cousin Tommy walked in on you while you were taking a wee, and now you call him Tommy peepers...
Somone called my grandfather pretending to be my cousin and told him he needed to be wired money for bail, that he got arrested for possession of pot. One, my cousin doesn't smoke, not cigarettes, not cannabis, not vape oil. Two, the scammer kept calling him granddad, we always called him grandpa. Three, my cousin has an Okie accent, not a Jamaican accent. He hung up and immediately called my aunt and she was in the room with said cousin. We all had a good laugh. My grandfather was nearly 90 and wasn't falling for scams. The code word stuff was something we always did as kids in the 80s when kid snatching paranoia was rampant.
When we're using military authentication techniques in everyday life, something has gone really wrong.
It started going wrong when a handshake was no longer good enough!
Amen!
@@margaretnicol3423 So when paper was invented. Got it. lol
@@ohana8535 Got to thank the Chinese for an awful lot.
@@ohana8535 That's weird. My comment about Ch*na disappeared. I was only saying a thank you for paper!
Very bold of scammers to assume I have money.
Hee.hee.
😂
Lol. So true
This nearly happened to my grandma, but she became suspicious when the caller kept referring to her as "grandma." We call her something very different, so that essentially functioned as a secret word.
Well done for not saying the word. 👍😀
I actually did sort of the same thing, my friend calling for a favor forgot that when I asked where he wanted to go to lunch he was supposed to say "Taco Bell" and I refused to send him money. It pretty much ended our friendship. Oh well!
My mother as well. Caller said he was my son. Said he was arrested for speeding during Covid.
Mom isn’t a fool. And she played with him a bit. Told him straight “somehow you got your drivers license and obtained a car during Covid? And you immediately broke the law. You’re just going to need to sit there and learn your lesson” The gasp was audible.
My son doesn’t drive
@@deborahwalton-blanchard5817 I look forward to someone trying to play this game with me, considering I have no descendants.
@@deborahwalton-blanchard5817 That is so funny way to go!!
I had fun with one of those. He was the "grandma" scam, and I don't have children. I asked which one are you? "Joe" he said. I played along, agreed not to tell his parents, but after ten minutes or so, I said I had one more question, "Jo, when did you have a sex change?" Cue spluttering, and me laughing as I hung up.
LOL. Haven't gotten that one myself, but have gotten amazing numbers of calls offering to renew my expired car insurance for the car I do not own because I have never learned to drive.
I just refuse to have friends or loved ones.
I like that. I'm now your friend, I decided.
It’s gettin’ to be like that…🤦♀️
It's the only way to be sure.
@@hugemanatee You and Ripley KNOW there is another way to be sure.
@@dcy665 😂
This saved me. I was at the laundromat when a guy flashed me. He then started to follow me home as I packed up my laundry. I didn't want to lead him to my home, so I ducked into a store. He was still listening as I dialed my husband (on a public phone--this was before cellphones.) I called my husband a predesignated wrong name, signaling that I was in trouble and needed him immediately. If I had said point-blank what the problem was, the bad guy might have punished me before my husband could arrive. My husband showed up with a fireplace poker and the creep ran off.
Shi-it! 👍
That dude is getting kicked in his crotch & punched in his throat
"Purple monkey dishwasher..."
-The Simpsons 😂
near La Junta Colorado
Someone almost got my elderly mother with; "Your son needs bail"
She was headed out the door, but I was caring for her at the time, due to her being in a car crash a month earlier.
It was clear she was upset about something, and she was in no condition to go out alone. I pressed the issue, she was afraid to speak about it. The "lawyer" said there was a "gag order" (common BS technique).
So, I phoned my brother, handed my mom the phone... saved her $10,000
Happened to my folks. They were angry and embarrassed. The scammer said "I'm very good at this" then hung up when they contacted him the last time.
Heh. My ex and I set up safe words for her when she’s dating. She knows me and trusts me, and knows I’ll back her up.
My mom did this decades ago and we've used it for my kids since they could talk. My childhood code was the name of my Cabbage Patch doll, to date how long we've done this.
I can remember when the code words for kids to know whether or not to go with an adult thing (whether known adult or not) was being pushed as a best practices thing for parenting (altho I don't recall hearing the very useful bit about immediately changing it once used) -- I don't know when it stopped being such but I've mentioned it over the years to parents and it isn't something most of them have heard of...unless it was something their family had done with them when they were a kid.
@@d.t.r.8036 IIRC, this became common after John Walsh’s son was kidnapped and ….
It's like being in your own spy movie. Life imitating art, imitating spies. Seriously, this IS great advice. Thanks!
It is. That's also a great angle to help young kids learn.
I am tired of America. Tired and disgusted.
This one isn't a uniquely American problem. This has been a huge issue in Japan for years, with families creating sets of riddles that need to be answered correctly to verify the caller's identity.
I’m embarrassed also
You can always leave the country……it ain’t for everybody. I do have another answer for you tho…..disconnect from social media and don’t be “internet people”, disconnect from your normal “trusted sources” of news, take up a hobby, find religion, connect with Mother Nature. People lie to you and make the world seem so disgusting, but there is beauty to behold, you just have to look a different direction than they want you to look. Good tips in this video 👍 hang in there
Vermin are everywhere in the world, and any of them with a working Internet connection are happy to destroy your life if it means that they don't have to go get a job. This is in no way a solely American issue.
@@kerrytodd3753I can't leave without family and animals and there is no money for it nor would I disrespect the choice my grandparents made to come here.
I hike, have hobbies and just got back on social media to connect and reconnect with friends and like minded folks. I can be tired and disgusted, embarrassed and angry. So far. Feelings are....all of them...are still allowed, for now.
THIS is the kind of content that keeps me coming back to this (and the main) channel. Thank you, Belle! 💝
This is great advice for older people. I had someone pretending to be the FBI telling me my son's car was in an accident in another state and that I needed to help him by wiring money to him. I told him I would contact my local police department, LOL! But with this AI it will make it much more difficult for all of us, so great advice Belle and I thank you!
My family had a secret word when I was growing up - long before cell phones. We had to use it twice. It was scary when it happened, but when the adult neighbor that I rarely saw and only sorta recognized showed up at my school and said I needed to go with them, I knew that they had talked to my parents and specifically were given the secret family word and instructions.
Prepare by practicing it within your group that could need to use it, and if you're working with small kids, tell them the code words more than once, ask them from time to time to tell you what it is (assuring they remember it), instruct them to ask for the family word before going with someone, and tell them how to react (yell, scream "help", etc) if the person doesn't have the correct answer.
Same here, we had a secret word. Mine was "tiger stripes"....oh shit..... 😆
I wired money for a lady last week. She denied all of the "red flag" questions and the transfer proceeded as normal. I found out that she returned the next day, trying to undo the transfer, as she'd been scammed. I felt bad for her. Implementing a code word or phrase (particularly with elderly who are scammers' primary targets) is a good idea.
Don't answer numbers you don't know. I answer my phone with "speak or don't", only my kids speak.... lmao😂
I answer with "Are you a real person?"
We had a secret word back in the day when the brothers would call collect while stationed overseas, so my parents would except the charges.
Thank you for looking after us so well, Belle. ❤
I got a call saying my 6 yo grandson had wrecked his car🙄🙄 and needed money wired to him. They obviously didn't know his age😂😂😂. But yeah, desperate times.
Why didn’t your 6 year-old grandson just use his regular towing service? They’d know he was good for it. 😉
Just an FYI. My family and I. Have a code word in public. This is for when something doesn't feel right or someone seems suspicious. Think shooter situations. It could be for example. "OH we got to get to aunt Tammy's she's expecting us."
From a European perspective, "think shooter situations" is an absolutely chilling phrase.
@@bookworm1956Agreed. My daughter spends a lot of time in Japan, including a semester abroad a few years ago. One of her favorite things about being there was not having to worry about the possibility of a school shooting. And every time she lands back in the US she says she feels the need to immediately get her guard back up. It breaks my heart and makes me mad. Good grief, what are we doing to the youth of this country.
This is also a good technique for those dealing with multiple contractors and family tensions, such as planning a wedding. Setting up a password to prevent a stepmom or cousin from changing or flat out canceling reservations has been suggested to brides for years in multiple online spaces I’ve seen.
Oh wow... like a competing bride calling up to get them to cancel a reservation so they can then scoop it up?
Appalling that this is needed. But then I recall my spouse's brother maliciously cancelled our rehearsal dinner reservations way back in the early 1980s so I guess I shouldn't be surprised this kind of thing is pervasive now.
Wow. That's evil!
OMG...if they'd only use their powers for good.
Do not talk about these codes near phones, even if they are off!
Annoying you can't remove the battery from phones anymore.
Or your smart tv!
At this rate, we're all going to have to start keeping a Faraday cage in a backpack. We need phones because there aren't payphones.
@@yesitschelle make sure you set it to "airplane" mode first.
Otherwise it will increase it's transmit power to compensate.
@@jamesphillips2285 Thanks for the heads up.
I learn from your PSAs when it comes to safety and security & I approve this message...Thank you Belle ! 💙
The learning we do on this Road keeps us all safer as we travel!
About two years ago I had a phone call from New Mexico telling me my son was in jail and needed bail. I played with him for about 40 minutes until I realized I had another appointment so I had to finish it real quick and I asked him are you sure this is my son? He said; "Yes."
I told him he better check again because my son passed away so someone must be using his identification. Would you believe they hung up on me. My son then drove me to my appointment. I worry if I ever have Dementia or Alzheimer's what could happen so I am always on my guard when dealing with this annoying problem.
Everyone that I love has a safe word as do I. Thank you for addressing this issue.
12/12/24 Don’t ya just ❤ numbers?!
Yup
Is that December 12 or 12 December - or both together? 😀
@ I suppose it depends on your perspective! 🤣
My Nan was scammed by something similar. But it was not a fake voice, they just said that my nose was broken so I sounded different. This can happen to anyone and the more SURE you are that it can't the bigger risk you are in of it happening to you.
Interesting tips, Belle.
Thanks for helping us look out for ourselves and one another.
Remain resilient, Internet People.
It's always a pleasure to share this Road with you Tim!
I had this happen at my old job. The call felt weird. They (the owner) wanted sensitive information that they should have already had access to. I asked the question the Terminator asks when he calls John's adoptive parents. They immediately failed, and I realized it was a spoofed A.I. voice call.
I had someone who told my sister this and she said keep him. 😂
😊
Happy travels, fellow "Roads scholars"!😉
Hi
Good morning, Donald! Hope you have a great day.
Traveling with you always makes for a happy trip good Donald!
@@roadswithbeau Good morning, to you, too! And thanks for all you do. And for putting up with the trolls and occasionally entertaining us by putting up with them publicly.
Good morning
My kids and I were doing this when they were in grade school in the 1980's. There was a possibility of non-custodial parent abduction and it worked like a charm.
Thank you, Belle. How good to dedicate an entire video to this.
In addition, I would like to point something out not related to the use of words as a security lock, but over here in Europe, there is a lot of QR code fraud going on. Especially with "on the go purchases." It may be that the QR code you scan to pay, refers to a completely different site and account and you are therefore being scammed. The advice we use to counter this is to always click on the browser link of the website that pops up, to check whether it is the company you want to pay for the product. And as I understood, everything that refers to a bit ly link is a complete no-go. Hope it's helpful as well.
There seems to be a new way to scam us every day. Thanks for the tip Mo!
Hi Mo, yes I agree we get that here in Europe. We also get the little messaging scam that says “hello mama…” And then continues in the local language about whatever the scam is.
We laugh because my family messages in 2+ languages within the same sentence. I know that if I get a message in a single language, Somebody else is texting 😂
We’ll have to add a keyword into that scenario, thank you for the advice Belle!
@@msam2357 We do that as well. The best keywords, are the words used only by the people you trust and you made up together as a memory or a joke. In Dutch the word for a heron is; Reiger. Yet those close to me call it a: joepiejapio. 😂 I won't use this one but you know what I mean.
I’m 38 and my mom actually had a password for if someone had to pick me up from school that was unusual.
What was it?
@ the nickname my mom had for me before I was born and named.
Me too! We still use it for other things.
@@markgoggin2014 " the nickname my mom had for me before I was born and named."
'that horrible thing inside me making me throw up and fat' ?
Contemporaneously applicable security tips also found in the French Resistance book "How to Survive 4 years of Nazi Occupation". Just in case Kash-App goes full Gestapo.
Thanks, Belle. In this day and time, everyone should have a plan in place for their safety
Good morning!
Words can protect as well as attack!
Way back before cell phones and the use of very expensive pay phones, I was a student travelling in Britain and Europe. I would check in occasionally with a collect call to my parents. The operator would ask the parent if they would accept a collect call from me at whatever location.
My parent would say no because now they knew I was ok and where I was. Or they might accept if they had something they wanted to tell me.
If I needed them to accept the charges because I had to talk with them I would have the collect call coming from my mother’s name. That was the code there was something important to tell them.
I have a friend that will ask how the family cat is doing… there is no family cat but that is the pass phrase to identify her to her folks.
These were some excellent tips. I think I'll bring this up with the family. Better safe than sorry.
Me, too!
This happened to my sister. They said her grandson was arrested and needed money. In hindsight it was obvious, but love and fear are powerful emotions.
One guy called up my mom and said he was her grandson.
She said I did not know you were out of jail and that he was violating the restraining order.
@@shawnr771 😆
@shawnr771 :
But it only works as a security code if he is not in jail with a restraining order .
!👴👴
Some pubs in the UK have codes in the ladies restrooms. For example 'purple'. If you ask the bar staff for a purple cocktail they'll know you need to get away from the guy you are with. Is it the same in the US. I can't remember the last time I went to a bar!
Yes, the code is asking for an "Angel shot". The code includes on the rocks or straight up, depending on whether it's just let you out the back door and walk you to your car, or call security/the police, something like that.
This could be helpful for a community network.
The correct response to "Flash" is "Gordon"! Everybody knows that! :D
That Queen gets everywhere!
Wally West, Barry Allen.
It's not Gordon, It's WAHAA.
@@margaretnicol3423 "FLASH! (ahaah) Saves every one of us!" :D
Good times!
@@graydanerasmussen4071 He's one of the Champions, my friend.
Happy trails fellow travelers! Let's learn something new together today!
Good to see you Victoria!
I had heard of doing this in the past, but good info
did this years ago, for my wife and daughter in distress.......glad its gonna be mainstream.
Good Morning Belle and internet Friends 🎉
'S afternoon in Denmark, but thanks anyway, and right back atcha :)
It's nice to see you here on this Road Gerrit!
Thanks for this. I’ve just shared it with my elderly mother and my nieces, one of whom travels internationally, in hopes it will help keep them all safe.
The best identification is something that doesn't stand out because there is a possibility of prior interception. Using a specific opening is the best because it doesn't stand out.
We taught our kids and grandkids a similar technique to protect them from being abducted. I tested my grandaughter and she failed! A lesson she never forgot because of it.
I may be showing my age, every time "a secret word" was said, I heard it in Groucho Marx's voice.
Swordafish
There’s your code word! Groucho
And response is Marx
Great we are still back to having to teach our children sign-countersign
Our world can be a scary place. Stay safe everybody!
Good morning.
Thanks so much for the breakdown Belle. It’s been a good reminder to refresh the family training.
What about us old farts that can only remember our relatives name after we’ve been through the names of the whole family? Like my grandmother. She’d forget my name and call me my cousin and sister. It’s the only time I’d hear her say a curse word.
Change your name to a curse word. That'll be more fun as she runs through the ones she knows. 😀
@ unfortunately she is no longer with us and now I’m the old fart trying to remember the names. We lived with her as we grew up and it was a wonderful childhood.
@@user-mad7max11dystopia I'm sorry she has gone but glad you have lovely memories. Reminds me of the day my stepmother said the word 'Hell'. She went bright red with embarrassment and left the room because - well, ladies didn't, did they?
If I haven't spoken to someone in a while, I'll ask them to tell me something only I would know. Or how, when, and where we met. And who else was there.
Hi Belle, thank you for this important advice.
Belle gives us advice we can use anywhere we are in the world!
Thank You Belle and Team for the News Highlights and Observations
I laughed out loud when you said unicorn. That was the word that my kids and I had when they were young!
Good infosec. Thanks Belle.
I shared this with my daughter and husband. Thank you! It's sometimes a scary world out there for us seniors. I appreciate you looking out for us.😊
Thank you for clearing this up!
Morning 👋🏻
We travel this Road together Mary Beth!
Good morning, Mary Beth! 👋😊✌
Belle, thank you for talking about this security information.
I remember my sister and I did this when we were latchkey kids in the 1960s. We would always make each other use the stupid sounding phrase our Mom came up with every time just to bust chops. Memories!
"Queen to Queen's level 3."
"Mr. Scott, I don't have time for games."
I like What 3 Words, a global location system accurate to a few feet.
The challenge is a location, the response is the What 3 Words code for that location.
That is effing cool. Bookmarked,
We could also just toss all our tech into the ocean, go back fifty years, and save ourselves a lot of time and money. I’m not really going to do that, but it feels good typing it.😂
Good morning.
Thank you for the commentary and advice, Belle.
Good morning, Shawn.
@donaldmrambojr5695 Hope your day is going well.
Mine started off with breakfast burritos.
@@shawnr771 😁😋😃
only issue i can see with this is that a password that keeps changing is hard to remember,
and writing it down is a giveaway both in the need to ["um... one second...."] look it up, and a risk of being misplaced.
excellent info, Belle. thank you.
Or if the voice of somebody you know ask for money, you can also call them back on their number just to be sure it's really them.
Not fool-proof.
But it does require the attacker to have taken over the number to succeed.
Great -- start having my mother constantly check to see if I'm a synth... Not sure if I have it left in my soul to take another bite of soft-dystopian layer cake.
Well the easiest solution is simply to be so broke there is litterally nothing they could send you... that's a little more dsytopian though.
Thank you for your help and support.
The only issue, especially in setting up multiple secret words, is both of you accurately remembering them in a few months, or a year or three down the road. Especially if you don't do regular refreshers.
This is especially true if the other person(s) don't take the matter very seriously because they don't think it will happen to them and you're being paranoid/have watched too many spy movies/etc.
Thank you,Belle.😎🇺🇸
Thank you Belle and Team.
Extremely valuable, even potentially lifesaving advice. I am passing this idea on to my broker/financial advisor and others. Thank you.
Good Explainer, Belle! ♥️ Your service background really shows here..
Peeps? Understand... (most) Capitalist Oligarchs don't G.A.S. about your well being, and haven't for generations... Remember Press Gangs...both the Dutch & English merchant & military marine/AND investors ("Industrialists" in time period speak) were happy users of the practice - THAT LONG -
Case in point? EXPERIAN? They're not bankrupt (!!!!?!!), because us sheep "consumers" won't organize a Class Action aginst them, or against the thousands of companies who actively SELL our DATA? We've Agreed to be sheep...?
My former boss had a system with his children. They had a family whistle and if he could not see them or they got separated , he would whistle a certain melody and they were to respond with their melody.
I don't know if there were other codes that their family used in their family. This was the only one that I witnessed being utilized.
It worked great.
Excellent advice! Thank you, Belle!
Is the government subtly training us for resistance operations? Because it sure sounds like it.
No, but Belle is
Outstanding information ✍🏾💜
Dogs Barking, Can't fly without Umbrella. (I say "Jumping Jack Flash" might be a BIT more famous these days)
It’s so helpful and good to have you as part of our lives. Thank you.
Thank you for this.
Thanks Belle!
Much needed info. Thank you
Really, really good video. Thank you.
6:07 Listening to the codes for kids makes me feel like I'm in Bird Box. 😔
After the abduction of Adam Walsh became a big time national news story in 1981, there was a big movement on ways to protect kids from being kidnapped and GenXers under 12 got bombarded with all sorts of things like that -- because we were also latchkey kids and so had to have ways to protect ourselves, etc. Honestly, I guess it isn't surprising that that group of GenXers tended to become the first version of Helicopter Parents...
@d.t.r.8036 omg right?! My partner had a safe word when he was a kid for the exact scenario Belle noted -- his mom must have been one of them.
Thank you.
Excellent how to! Thanks Belle!
We had this in my family, so long ago that I do not even remember why. Ours was just calling and letting the phone ring twice, hang up, and then call back.
For Christmas, Is there anyway you can talk Beau into doing a joint reading with you as a holiday card to subscribers and followers to make our holidays a little bit better and as a gift of the channel kinda like something old Beau, something new Belle, because in these days the friends of the channel are blue enough. Very much appreciated 👍
This is very helpful. Thank you!
Thanks for that Belle, very coherent and harmonious in way, think you really like that topic
My partner and I tried a system like this years ago, but we couldn't remember any of the words... Any tips for bad memory?
Make them shocking words. Maybe swear words so bad you never say them, or something racist you would never say in any other situation. Songs sometimes work too. Like those old commercial lyrics you can never get out of your head. You remember those kinds of things better.
@@ohana8535 Reeeeeeed Robin
TV jingles, nursery rhymes. Everybody knows "up the waterspout," but only you and your partner would know the phrase is significant. Phrases are MUCH easier to remember than individual words, and they're just as good if not better for obfuscation. Pick a few and practice them whenever you're thinking about security - somebody gets their account hacked, you leave the keys in the door carrying in groceries, etc. Keep them fresh.
Do you have any inside jokes or unique stories? Maybe your cousin Tommy walked in on you while you were taking a wee, and now you call him Tommy peepers...
Somone called my grandfather pretending to be my cousin and told him he needed to be wired money for bail, that he got arrested for possession of pot. One, my cousin doesn't smoke, not cigarettes, not cannabis, not vape oil. Two, the scammer kept calling him granddad, we always called him grandpa. Three, my cousin has an Okie accent, not a Jamaican accent. He hung up and immediately called my aunt and she was in the room with said cousin. We all had a good laugh. My grandfather was nearly 90 and wasn't falling for scams. The code word stuff was something we always did as kids in the 80s when kid snatching paranoia was rampant.
😬we’re limited by the ability of all participants to remember all of the words and codes.
Thank you Belle again from Sterling Heights Michigan