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How to help protect your parents from online scams

Scams work on anyone, at any age. A few habits and settings you agree together make your parents a much harder target, without taking over their phone.

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  1. 1. Agree a family code word
  2. 2. Make "hang up and call back" the habit
  3. 3. Cut down scam calls
  4. 4. Protect their email and key accounts
  5. 5. Keep talking about it
  6. If they've been scammed

Quick answer: agree a family code word, and one simple rule: if a call or message asks for money or details, hang up and call back on a number you already know — for banks, that's 159. Then sit down together to turn on call and text filtering and two-step verification on their email. If they've already been scammed, call their bank first.

Scammers are skilled and their tricks work on people of every age. The aim here isn't to take over your parents' devices. It's to agree a few habits that make it easy for them to stop, check and say no — and easy to tell you if something goes wrong, without feeling embarrassed.

1. Agree a family code word

Scammers pretend to be a son, daughter or grandchild with "a new number" who urgently needs money. Which? suggests agreeing a family password that only you and your loved ones know, to use in exactly this situation.

  • Pick a word that isn't on anyone's social media — not a pet's name or a street you lived on.
  • Agree that anyone asking for money by message or phone, even if it sounds like family, must give the word.
  • If they can't, your parent calls the family member back on the number they already have saved.

2. Make "hang up and call back" the habit

Callers can make a real company's number appear on screen. Ofcom calls this "number spoofing". So the number on screen isn't proof of who's calling.

The rule to agree:

  1. If anyone calls about money, a bank account, a parcel or a computer problem — stop.
  2. Hang up. There's no need to be polite or explain.
  3. Call back on a number you already know: the back of the bank card, a bill, or the organisation's official website.
  4. For the bank, dial 159. This short number, from Stop Scams UK, connects you to your own bank and works for more than 99% of UK retail bank current accounts. 159 never calls you, so anyone claiming to be "from 159" is a scammer.

The Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign puts it as Stop, Challenge, Protect: take a moment before parting with money or information, remember it's fine to refuse or ignore a request, and contact the bank straight away if something's wrong.

Write "Hang up. Call 159." on a note by the landline or on the fridge. When someone is under pressure, a written reminder helps.

3. Cut down scam calls

On a landline

Ofcom lists several services phone companies offer:

  • Caller display — shows the number calling, so they can choose whether to answer.
  • Call blocking or filtering — some providers can send calls from known nuisance numbers, withheld numbers or international numbers to a junk voicemail.
  • Anonymous call rejection — blocks callers who withhold their number. Ofcom notes that police, hospitals and utility companies sometimes withhold their numbers, so these calls could be blocked too.
  • Call blocker phones or units — can be bought from shops or some phone companies. They need caller display switched on.
  • 1471 — dial straight after a nuisance call to get the number, so it can be reported.

Ring their phone provider together and ask what they offer and whether there's a charge.

On an iPhone

  • Screen or silence unknown callers: Settings > Apps > Phone, then Screen Unknown Callers. Ask Reason for Calling asks unknown callers why they're ringing before the phone rings; Silence sends them to voicemail.
  • Filter spam calls: in the same Phone settings, under Call Filtering, turn on the spam filter.
  • Filter unknown texts: in Messages, tap the filter button, then Manage Filtering, and turn on Screen Unknown Senders.

Before you do this, add the people and places they need to hear from — family, the GP surgery, carers — to their Contacts. Apple suggests this so important calls always come through.

On an Android phone

Ofcom notes that some mobile phones have built-in features to identify suspected scam calls or screen calls. The settings vary by make, so check the maker's help pages or look in the Phone app's settings for spam or caller ID options.

4. Protect their email and key accounts

Their email is the key to everything else — whoever gets into it can reset the passwords on other accounts. Set these up together, with them doing the tapping so they know how it works:

  1. A strong, unique email password. Three random words is easy to remember. See how to create a strong password.
  2. Two-step verification on email, then banking and shopping. See what two-factor authentication is.
  3. Passkeys wherever offered, so there's no password to hand over.
  4. Automatic updates on their phone, tablet and computer.

Agree one more rule: never read out or pass on a code that's been texted to them. No genuine company or relative needs it.

5. Keep talking about it

  • Share scams you've seen yourself. It makes it normal to talk about.
  • Tell them they can always call you before paying anyone, with no judgement.
  • Show them our Scam Check, which they can use to check a suspicious message.
  • Our Family Check helps you see what's set up and what isn't.

If they've been scammed

  1. Call their bank straight away on 159 or the number on the back of their card.
  2. If money was transferred in the last 24 hours, call the police on 101, Citizens Advice says. If they feel threatened or unsafe, call 999.
  3. Report it to Report Fraud, the service that replaced Action Fraud: reportfraud.police.uk (opens in a new tab) or 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.
  4. Report it to Citizens Advice, which passes scam reports to Trading Standards. In England, the consumer helpline is 0808 223 1133.
  5. Change passwords on any account they gave details for, starting with email.

They may be able to get their money back. Under the Payment Systems Regulator's rules, banks must reimburse victims of bank transfer scams, up to £85,000, for payments made on or after 7 October 2024, unless the customer was complicit or grossly negligent. The PSR says the gross negligence exception doesn't apply to vulnerable customers, and neither does the optional excess of up to £100. Claims should be made as soon as possible and within 13 months.

If you need to manage their bank account to help sort things out, Citizens Advice explains that they can sign a third party mandate giving you permission. Most banks have a form for this.

Most of all, be kind. Citizens Advice says there's no need to feel embarrassed — scammers are clever and scams can happen to anyone.

Sources

Last checked: 22 September 2026

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Tools that can help

The steps above are free. If you would rather have a tool take care of it, these are the ones we link to.

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