After Sixty Guides Basket
Don’t Get Scammed — An older adult pausing before responding to a suspicious message, using a second trusted channel to verify it while a subtle shield motif frames the scene.
Book 5 of the series

Don’t Get Scammed

A Plain-Language Guide to Fraud, Identity Theft, Impostors, and Financial Self-Defense After 60

Every scam is built to rush you, so this book teaches the calm habits that slow that one moment down.

Three ways to have it

  • Paperback$13.99Not yet printable

    5.5 × 8.5 in, 120 pages, posted to you. ISBN not yet issued

  • Ebook$4.99

    EPUB, reads on any e-reader, phone or tablet. ISBN 979-8-90623-695-1

  • Audiobook$9.99

    About 2h 38m, narrated in full. ISBN 979-8-90623-696-8

Read the opening free Prices and delivery

What it is for

For adults over 60, and the family members who worry with them, who want a few calm habits rather than a list of tricks to memorize.

What it will not do

It cannot promise you will never be targeted or defrauded, it deliberately states no figures or current phone numbers, and it is not legal or financial advice; anything touching your money or identity belongs with a qualified professional.

What this guide is about

Marisol was folding laundry when her phone buzzed. A delivery company she recognized, or so it seemed, said a package could not be delivered and she had twelve hours to confirm her address. There was a link. Estelle, seventy-nine, picked up just after eleven at night and heard a young man crying. "Grandma. Grandma, it's me. I'm in trouble."

Neither woman was careless. Being targeted is not being foolish. Every scam aims at the same soft spot: the moment between feeling something and acting on it, before the thinking part of you catches up.

This book will not ask you to memorize a catalog of scams; that list changes faster than any book can be printed. It teaches habits pointed at the machinery underneath the costume. Ten chapters cover how scams capture attention, the verification habit of reaching a company or person through a channel you already had, never the one handed to you, the payment methods that should stop you cold, impostor and family emergency calls, romance and investment and opportunity fraud, computer and account takeover, what to do after something has already happened, a family fraud defense plan, identity theft and credit recovery, and building a small circle of people you can check with.

About 25,000 words with warm chapter illustrations. At the back: a 30-day plan of one small protective action a day, the anti-scam script to say out loud, the three reflexes, the family safe-word, a check-with-one-person pact, steps for the sinking-stomach moment, a quick-reference card for the drawer by the phone, a short glossary, and plain-language sources including where to report.

The goal is not fear. Frightened people are easier to rush, not harder.

Inside the book

Every chapter, with the sentence it opens on.

The chapters

  1. How Scams Capture AttentionMarisol was folding laundry when her phone buzzed with a text.
  2. The Verification HabitIf you take one habit from this whole book, take this one.
  3. Dangerous Ways to PayHere's a shortcut that will save you more than any amount of scam-spotting: watch how they want to be paid.
  4. Impostor and Family Emergency ScamsThe phone rang just after eleven at night, which is its own kind of trick, because nobody thinks clearly at eleven at night.
  5. Romance, Investment, and Opportunity FraudThe scams in this chapter play a longer game, and that's what makes them dangerous.
  6. Computer and Account Takeover ScamsThis is the family of scams that comes through your screen, and it frightens people more than it should, because the technology feels like a foreign country where you don't know the rules.
  7. When Something Has Already HappenedEverything so far has been about prevention.
  8. A Family Fraud Defense PlanEverything up to now, you can do on your own.
  9. Identity Theft, Credit, and RecoveryIdentity theft is the quiet cousin of the scams we've covered.
  10. Build a Personal Verification NetworkWe end where the strongest protection actually lives: not in a habit you carry alone, but in a small circle of people you can turn to in the two seconds before you do something you can't undo.

And at the back

  • When It Feels Hard: Troubleshooting the Real Barriers
  • Common Myths, Gently Corrected
  • Your 30-Day Plan
  • Worksheets, Scripts, and Reusable Frames
  • Quick-Reference Card
  • A Small Glossary
  • Sources and Further Reading
  • A Closing Word

The thirty days

This isn't a course, and there's no test. It's thirty small, specific actions, one a day, each doable in fifteen minutes or less, that together turn this book from ideas into protections you actually have in place. Skip days freely. Repeat any you like. If you fall behind, pick up where you left off. The only wrong way to use it is to turn it into pressure.

  1. Save your main bank's real fraud number in your phone, from the back of your card, under a clear name like "BANK, real."
  2. Do the same for your primary credit card's fraud line. Two numbers, saved, done.
  3. Say the payment rule out loud until it's yours: "I never pay strangers with gift cards, wire, crypto, or cash."
  4. Find one paper statement or bill for each key account and note where you keep them, so a real number is always findable.
  5. Practice the pause. Next time any message gives you a jolt, say "This can wait. Verify," and just notice the feeling pass.
  6. Write the three core reflexes on an index card for the drawer by your phone (urgency-secrecy-payment; verify your own channel; never pay strangers oddly).
  7. Rest and reflect. Look back at any calls or texts this week. Which pulled a lever, urgency, fear, luck, authority? Name them.
  8. Learn how to fully close a browser window or tab, and how to restart your device. Practice once, calmly.
  9. Find the official contact information for the major credit bureaus in your country. Just find it and write it down.
  10. Place a credit freeze, or start it, with the first bureau. Free, score-safe, high-value.
  11. Continue the freeze with the remaining bureaus, or ask a helper to sit with you while you do.
  12. Turn on two-step verification for your email account, the master key, with help if needed.
  13. Add two-step verification to your online banking, if you use it.
  14. Rest and reflect. Notice how much of your protection now runs quietly in the background without your attention.
  15. Say the verification script out loud: "I'll call you back on a number I already have." Practice until it feels natural, not rude.
  16. Rehearse hanging up. Literally practice ending a call mid-sentence, so you can do it under pressure.
  17. Pick your family safe-word idea and choose who you'll propose it to.
  18. Send the message or make the call proposing a safe-word to your closest people.
  19. Write down one level-headed person you'll describe any big financial decision to before acting. Put their name by your computer.
  20. Look at your last few emails or texts and, for one, practice checking it the safe way, going to the company's real site yourself rather than tapping a link.
  21. Rest and reflect. You now have the reflexes for the two most common scams. Notice how much calmer the phone feels.
  22. Pick one person to invite into a two-way "run weird calls past each other" agreement.
  23. Send that invitation. One text is enough to start your verification network.
  24. Name your rings on paper: inner, everyday, knowledge, professional, one name or resource each.
  25. Find your local library's or senior center's contact info; note whether they offer tech or scam-safety help.
  26. Check one statement or account for anything you don't recognize. Just a glance, a habit worth keeping.
  27. Find the official fraud-reporting channel for your country (in the U.S., consumer.ftc.gov) and save it, so you'd know where to go.
  28. Talk with your family about tone: agree that anyone can bring a strange call to the group without judgment.
  29. Review the whole plan. Circle the two or three protections that gave you the most peace of mind.
  30. Write yourself a short note: the guards you now have in place, the one person you'll always check with, and the promise to trade shame for a phone call if anything ever slips. Put a check-in date a few months out. You're protected, and still fully yourself.

Pages from this book

Real pages, at the size they print. In the paperback these are black and white; the cover keeps its colour.

An older adult pausing before acting on a suspicious call or message and independently verifying through a trusted second channel.
An older adult pausing before acting on a suspicious call or message and independently verifying through a trusted second channel.
A calm thirty-day progression as four weekly clusters and two review days, simple shapes, no readable text.
A calm thirty-day progression as four weekly clusters and two review days, simple shapes, no readable text.
Concentric support rings — self, trusted people, community, professionals — shown through people and symbols, no words.
Concentric support rings — self, trusted people, community, professionals — shown through people and symbols, no words.
A four-stage decision path shown as visual stations with a calm older adult moving through them, no words.
A four-stage decision path shown as visual stations with a calm older adult moving through them, no words.

Words this book makes plain

Phishing
a fake message (email, text, or call) that imitates a real company or person to trick you into giving up information, money, or access. "Smishing" is the text-message version.
Impostor scam
any scam where the criminal pretends to be someone you'd trust, a grandchild, an official, your bank, to lower your guard.
Spoofing
faking the phone number, email address, or name that shows up, so a scammer's contact looks like it comes from someone real.
Credit freeze
a free lock on your credit file that stops anyone from opening new accounts in your name until you lift it. Doesn't affect your existing accounts or your score.
Two-step (two-factor) verification
a second proof of identity when logging in, usually a code sent to your phone, so a stolen password alone can't get in.
Gift-card scam
any demand that you pay a bill, fee, or fine with gift cards. Always a scam, without exception.
Wire transfer
a fast, usually irreversible way to send money. Legitimate for some uses, dangerous when demanded by a stranger who contacted you.
Cryptocurrency
digital money (like Bitcoin) that's hard to trace and reverse, which is why scammers favor it. No real agency asks to be paid this way.
Identity theft
using your personal information, name, Social Security number, account details, to open credit, claim benefits, or make charges in your name.
Remote access
software that lets someone else control your computer. Fine when you seek out real help; catastrophic when a stranger who called you talks you into it.

The words to use

Copy these out, print them, or keep them in a note on your phone. They are yours to use.

The Anti-Scam Script (say it, then hang up and verify)

"I don't make urgent decisions on the spot, and I never share codes, numbers, or payments over a call I didn't start. I'm going to hang up and call back on a number I already have. If this is real, it will still be real in an hour."

Keep this where you can read it while a convincing voice is talking:

You don't have to be clever or win the argument. You just say your line and leave. A real institution accepts this without a fuss. Only a scam fights you on it.

The Three Reflexes (the whole book in three lines)

  1. Urgency + secrecy + a strange payment = a scam. Feel any two arrive together and stop cold.
  2. Verify through a channel you already trust, never the number or link they gave you.
  3. Never pay a stranger with gift cards, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or cash. No real company or agency asks for these.

The Family Safe-Word

The rule, held without exception: No safe-word, no money, no action. Even if the voice is crying. Even if it sounds just like them. A real loved one can prove who they are. A scammer cannot.

Agree with your inner circle on one private word or short phrase, not a pet's name, a birthplace, or anything findable online, that every real emergency call must include.

The Check-With-One-Person Pact

"It's not a permission slip, it's a second set of eyes. We all do it, so no one ever decides alone under pressure."

A mutual family agreement: before anyone, of any age, sends a large or unusual payment, they run it past one agreed relative first.

The "Something Happened" Steps (for the sinking-stomach moment)

  1. Stop. No more payments, clicks, or talking to them.
  2. Call the real institution (bank, card issuer) on a trusted number. Ask them to stop or reverse it and lock the account.
  3. Change passwords, email first, and turn on two-step verification.
  4. Write down what happened: dates, amounts, names, numbers.
  5. Report it (in the U.S., consumer.ftc.gov; for identity theft, IdentityTheft.gov). Trade shame for the phone call. Speed beats embarrassment every time.

Support Circle Worksheet

You were never meant to face this alone. Fill in one name or resource per ring.

  • Inner ring (call first, any hour, for the urgent stuff): ______________________
  • Everyday ring (quick "does this sound like a scam?" questions): ______________________
  • Knowledge ring (good with tech, banking, or the library/senior center): ______________________
  • Professional ring (bank fraud line, lawyer, police, FTC, real numbers saved): ______________________

Questions worth asking before you buy

Who is Don’t Get Scammed for?
For adults over 60, and the family members who worry with them, who want a few calm habits rather than a list of tricks to memorize.
What does it not do?
It cannot promise you will never be targeted or defrauded, it deliberately states no figures or current phone numbers, and it is not legal or financial advice; anything touching your money or identity belongs with a qualified professional.
How long is it?
About 25,100 words across 10 chapters, with 13 full-page illustrations. In paperback that is about 120 pages. The audiobook runs about 2h 38m.
Can I read some of it first?
Yes. The foreword and the whole introduction are on this site, free, with nothing to sign up for.
What languages is it in?
The books exist in five: English, German, Spanish, French and Dutch, each localised properly — its own illustrations with the labels drawn in that language, and its own country's institutions named in the text. This shop can sell you the English and the Spanish today; the other three are finished books waiting on their paperwork.
What does the complete set include?
All thirty guides in print, in one box, and the ebook and the audiobook of every one of them at no extra charge.

Free to read

What is in it, chapter by chapter

All 10 chapters: what each one opens on, the questions it answers, and the one small thing to do when you have finished it. About 25,100 words in the book itself.

Every chapter

Where it sends you next

The book’s own sources, printed here in full.

Scam tactics, reporting channels, and the details of tools like credit freezes change over time, and phone numbers and website names drift. Treat anything specific here as a solid starting point to confirm at the source before you act. These are trustworthy places to begin for current, plain-language guidance:

  • The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (consumer.ftc.gov), clear, current information on scams and how to report them, and the standard place to file a report in the United States.
  • IdentityTheft.gov (also run by the FTC), for reporting identity theft and generating a step-by-step recovery plan.
  • The three major credit bureaus, for placing a free credit freeze. Confirm their current names and contact methods, and use only their official sites.
  • AARP, for ongoing, senior-focused guidance on avoiding scams, including a fraud helpline.
  • Your bank's fraud department, the real number on the back of your card, for anything involving your accounts.
  • Your local public library or senior center, many offer free, patient help with technology and scam questions in person.
  • Your national or regional consumer-protection and cybersecurity agencies, for reporting and up-to-date advice wherever you live.

A Note on Review

Because this book concerns fraud, money, identity, and the reporting steps that follow, its specific guidance, agency names, website addresses, phone numbers, and procedures, should be reviewed against current, official sources near the time of publication, and again whenever you're about to act on it. This book intentionally avoids stating dollar figures, statistics, or specific current phone numbers as settled fact, because those move too quickly to trust in print. The durable principles here, urgency-secrecy-payment as the mark of a scam, verifying through a trusted channel, the safe-word, the credit freeze, are built to hold up over time. The specifics are yours to confirm, and anything touching your money, identity, or legal rights belongs, finally, with a qualified professional and not a printed page.

This book in other languages

En español

The particulars

SeriesPractical Guides for Life After 60, book 5 of the series
ImprintThe Greenlight Guides Editorial Team
Length25,100 words, 10 chapters
Extentabout 120 pages (estimated from the manuscript, not a proof)
Size5.5 × 8.5 in (140 × 216 mm)
Illustrations13, full-page illustrations
Listening time2h 38m
ISBN, ebook979-8-90623-695-1
ISBN, audiobook979-8-90623-696-8
ISBN, paperbacknot yet issued
LanguageEnglish (en-US)

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