Why Every Family Needs a Code Word

AI | Fraud | Security code | Family finances | January 14, 2026

This Week's Quote:

"Count your age by friends, not years.  Count your life by smiles, not tears." 
     - John Lennon

Criminals increasingly use generative AI to mimic real people’s voices and con their loved ones out of money.

There’s a simple solution to this high-tech problem: a code word. 

If you receive a call from someone who sounds just like your grandson and says he needs money or a gift card, the best thing to do is hang up and call your grandson. But if the voice is so convincing that you can’t bear to do that, ask for your family code word. If the caller can’t produce it, hang up.

Likewise, if you are legitimately in trouble and need to call a loved one for help, say the code word so your relative knows it’s really you.

People who haven’t implemented a family code word have been burned by bad actors. I wrote earlier this year about a Colorado woman who received a call from a young woman who she said sounded just like her daughter. Only after wiring $2,000 to protect her daughter from danger did she learn the whole thing was a scam.

It’s easy to see how someone can be fooled. My colleagues recently created deepfakes of several Wall Street Journal staffers’ voices, including my own, and it was hard to tell the human voices from the clones.

Here are some tips on how to create and manage a family code word:

Keep it simple but strong. The code word (or phrase) should be easy to remember and something only family members would know. Criminals can find out a lot about you online, including on social media and publicly available databases. Don’t use a word they could guess, such as the name of your street or pet, says Liz Hamburg, chief executive of Candoo Tech, which provides tech support and training for older adults. Instead, choose from family anecdotes, like an inside joke or your baby’s first word—if it was something other than “Dada.”

Keep it safe. If you worry you’ll forget the code word, you could store it in a password manager. If you write it down, hide the paper. (Don’t stick it on your fridge where an unscrupulous repair person or more distant relative could see it.) 

Keep the circle tight. Only share the code word with close and trusted family members, and do it in person or over the phone. “The wider the circle, the riskier it gets,” Hamburg says. 

Have a Plan B. Some families prefer to have a code question to which only a family member would know the answer. Vince Martino, a certified fraud examiner in Downingtown, Pa., came up with some for his mother, who once received a call from someone pretending to be him (she didn’t fall for it). He suggests pairing questions and answers that aren’t available publicly, such as, “What was the name of the motel we went to at the beach when I was growing up?”

In the event that a caller could guess the right answer, Martino suggests having a backup question as well—a type of two-factor authentication.

The caveat. There are situations where a code might not be appropriate. People who have dementia might not be able to remember the word or think to ask for one. In that case, it’s probably best to limit calls by blocking unknown numbers or following some of the other steps I included here, such as locking down social-media accounts and texting the loved one who is supposedly on the line. 

Don’t change the code word unless you need to. A shift in family dynamics—such as a relative getting divorced from a spouse who knew the code—could warrant a change. But if you’re confident there’s no breach in the tight circle of code-word holders, there’s no need to change it. Introducing a new word could cause confusion, like forgetting which is the latest version. 

Jesse Ohlsson, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant in Carthage, N.Y., has had the same “oddball” code word with his two grown sons since they were young boys, when he came up with the word to ensure they didn’t go off with an unauthorized adult. 

“It’s never been compromised,” he says. “It exists only in our memories.”

Credit goes to Julie Jargon, Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2025.

Thank you for all of your questions, comments and suggestions for future topics. As always, they are much appreciated. We also welcome and appreciate anyone who wishes to write a Tax Tip of the Week for our consideration. We may be reached in our Dayton office at 937-436-3133 or in our Xenia office at 937-372-3504. Or, visit our website.
 
This Week’s Author, Mark Bradstreet