The grandparent scam: how it works and what to do

How the grandparent scam works

The FCC's grandparent scam alert and the FTC's advice on fake emergencies describe how these calls usually go:

1. The call. A frightened voice says "Grandma, it's me" or uses a grandchild's name. Scammers find names and details by mining social media or buying stolen data, and sometimes they simply guess.
2. The crisis. An arrest or a car accident, and a plea to keep it quiet: "please don't let Mom and Dad know".
3. The handoff. Someone posing as a lawyer, a police officer or a court official comes on the line to demand bail, fines or fees right away.
4. The payment. Gift card numbers read over the phone, a wire transfer, cryptocurrency, a payment app, money orders, or a request to meet in person and hand over cash.

Caller ID doesn't settle it: scammers can "spoof" the caller ID so the call appears to come from a trusted number. And in 2025, gift cards were the payment older adults most often reported in scams where someone posed as a friend or family member, according to the FTC report on older consumers.

Why it's harder to spot now: cloned voices

With a short audio clip, perhaps from a video posted online, and a voice-cloning program, a scammer can sound like a specific family member. The FTC, the FCC and the FBI all warn about it; the FBI describes criminals generating short audio clips of a loved one's voice to impersonate a close relative in a crisis.

The FCC says calls using AI-generated voices are illegal unless the person agreed to receive them or the caller is exempt, but scammers don't follow the rules. So "it sounded just like him" is not proof. The FCC's advice is direct: don't trust the voice on the phone.

Set up a family code word

A code word gives your family a check that a cloned voice alone can't pass. The FBI suggests creating a secret word or phrase with your family to verify identity, and the FCC suggests a "safe word" that only you and your family know, chosen ahead of time.

1. Pick something easy to remember and impossible to guess. Two unrelated words work well, like "purple walrus". Avoid pet names, birthdays, street names and anything that has ever been posted online.
2. Share it in person, or on a call you started. Make sure grandparents, parents and the grandchildren who might call all know it.
3. Agree on the rule. Anyone who calls asking for help or money gives the code word. If they can't, the grandparent hangs up and calls back on the number they already have.
4. The grandparent asks; the caller answers. Never offer the word or a hint, like "is it the walrus one?"
5. Change it if it's ever shared outside the family, written somewhere public, or used in a real emergency.

When a call like this comes in

1. Slow down. The FTC's advice is to resist pressure to send money right away. A real emergency can wait the few minutes it takes to check.
2. Ask for the code word, or ask something only the real person could answer, like the name of the family dog.
3. Hang up and call back on the number saved in your contacts, as the FCC advises. If you can't reach them, call their parents or another relative, even if the caller begged you to keep it secret.
4. Don't pay a caller you haven't checked, whether by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, payment app or cash.
5. Report the call to your local police, as the FCC advises, and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

What the rest of the family can do

• Grandchildren: make sure grandparents have your current number saved, and tell them you'll never mind a call back to check.
• Everyone: limit the photos, videos and voice recordings you post publicly, and set social media accounts to private. The FBI suggests both.
• Parents: tell grandparents that "don't tell Mom and Dad" is exactly the moment to call Mom and Dad.

If money was already sent

Act fast, and without blame. Contact the bank, gift card company or money transfer service right away and ask them to stop or reverse the payment, then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov and to local police. The National Elder Fraud Hotline, 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311), can help with reporting on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. Our phone scams guide lists the steps for each way of paying.