2mo ago

FBI recommends coming up with a 'secret word or phrase' to make sure your family know you're you and not some hellish AI copycat

The true cost of generative AI is the erosion of trust.

The true cost of generative AI is the erosion of trust.

2mo ago

333 28

60 comments

We've discussed this years back, and decided our safe phrase is "Hi gramma, it's me im in jail and need apple gift cards"

My family gaslit me for decades.
I can only hope someone bothers to harass them with my own voice.

Truth be told, me and my parents have been doing this for a bit now to combat the kidnapping scam calls

So… the same Stranger Danger protocols that parents have been told to use for years.
- Wait you actually had a code word for when a stranger approached you?
  I thought that was a joke
  
  It is not a joke. Honestly I don’t remember anymore if we had a code word or not, but it was definitely discussed with parents and school officials; probably in D.A.R.E too. The premise is that a kidnapper might try to trick you with: “Your mom is [working late / in the hospital / etc.], she asked me to pick you up today.” If they don’t have the password, then you don’t go with them and then go get help from a trusted adult. If you can’t get to one, run away and scream.

Between this and the recommendation to fall back to encrypted communication, this almost looks like someone trying to bootstrap a populace trained to evade the feds.
- Oh well

my family knows i hate using the phone in the first place so me calling without good reason is a red flag
- The scam is exactly about feinting a "good reason". So it is still a good idea to establish a code phrase for such situation, even if you don't normally use the phone.
  
  its the mannerism that matters on the phone.
  the other part is for a scammer to create a model using broken english/asian language, which on its own, is a huge hurdle.

Trust is dead, the foundation of communication was laid to rest without another soul in sight.
- Digital communication is dead*
  People forget there's still a perfectly good real world right there any time they want to live in it.
  
  Except theres not cause the MAGAts are out drooling on the streets, in your workplace, and at the cornerstore 24/7 making sure you know their silver spooned, first-generation immigrant, traitor is For The People.

Anyone born in the 80's probably still has the code word their parents gave them.

I just tell them to hang up and call me right back. In some scenarios that might not be the best solution but it is the easiest blanket approach that I can find to keep everyone safe.

60 comments