Protect your parents

• How Do I Protect My Family From AI Voice-Clone Scam Calls?

  Don't trust the voice. The FTC says a scammer can clone a loved one's voice from a short audio clip, so hang up and call the person back at a number you know is theirs. The FCC and the FBI suggest picking a family safe word ahead of time, and the FCC says a caller who can't remember it may be a scammer. Call screening on an iPhone or Pixel can also make an unknown caller say who they are before your phone rings.

• How Do I Freeze My Credit at All Three Bureaus for Free?

  Freezing your credit is free by federal law, but you have to do it separately at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The FTC says a freeze makes it harder for someone to open new accounts in your name, doesn't affect your credit score, and lasts until you lift it. When you apply for credit, you can lift it for free. The FTC says a bureau must lift a freeze within one hour if you ask online or by phone, or within three business days if you ask by mail.

• How Do You Use the Official Medicare Plan Finder for 2027 Plans?

  Medicare Plan Finder, at Medicare.gov/plan-compare, is Medicare's official tool for comparing Medicare health and drug plans in your area side by side. You can log in to see a summary of your current coverage and use your saved drugs and pharmacies, or skip logging in by choosing the coverage year and entering your ZIP code. Add your prescriptions, pharmacies and doctors to get cost estimates and see which plans include them, then check each plan's 1-to-5-star quality rating. Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, and free help is available from your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) or 1-800-MEDICARE.

• Medical Alert Button vs Smartwatch: What Does Each One Do?

  A medical alert system is a service you pay for: the person wears a button on a necklace or bracelet and presses it to get help. Some smartwatches, like Apple Watch and Google Pixel Watch, can call emergency services, and can call on their own after a hard fall if the wearer doesn't respond. A watch needs a cellular connection or a nearby phone, and neither option catches every fall. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) says Medicare won't pay for emergency medical alert systems.

• I Got Scammed. What Should I Do in the First Hour?

  Contact the company you used to pay right away, tell them it was a scam, and ask them to reverse the payment. That might be your card company, bank, payment app, wire company, gift card company, or crypto exchange. If you shared your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov, and if you shared a password, change it and turn on two-factor authentication. Then report the scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and, for internet crime, to the FBI at ic3.gov, and ignore anyone who offers to get your money back for a fee.

• How Do I Check if My Password Has Been Leaked? (Free Tools)

  Use a free checker. At haveibeenpwned.com, type your email address to see which known data breaches included it, and use its Pwned Passwords tool to check a password without sending the full password. If you save passwords with Google, run Password Checkup at passwords.google.com; on an iPhone with iOS 18 or later, open the Passwords app and tap Security. Change any password flagged as leaked everywhere you used it, then turn on a passkey or two-step verification.

• How Do Scammers Get My Address? Data Brokers and How to Opt Out

  One common source is data brokers, including people-search sites, which the FTC says build reports from public records, social media, and other data brokers and sell them to anyone willing to pay. There are three ways out. If you live in California, the state's free DROP platform sends one deletion request to over 600 registered data brokers, and brokers have had to process those requests since August 1, 2026. Anyone can also opt out site by site for free, or pay a removal service to do the opt-outs for them.

• What Can You Change During Medicare Open Enrollment (Oct 15–Dec 7)?

  During Medicare Open Enrollment, October 15 to December 7, 2026, you can switch between Original Medicare and a Medicare Advantage Plan, join, switch, or drop a Medicare Advantage Plan, and, if you have Original Medicare, join, switch, or drop a Part D drug plan. The plan must get your request by December 7, and your new coverage starts January 1, 2027. If you're happy with your coverage, you don't have to do anything, because it continues automatically. Medigap follows separate rules, and if you're in a Medicare Advantage Plan you get one more chance to make one change from January 1 to March 31, 2027.

• Did Medicare Really Call You? How to Spot 3 Medicare Scams

  Medicare won't call, text, or email you out of the blue to ask for your Medicare Number, bank details, or a payment, and it never calls to sell you anything. Medicare or a plan calls only in limited cases, such as a plan you already belong to, a 1-800-MEDICARE representative returning your call, or a follow-up on a fraud report you made. Three fakes to watch for are a caller saying you need a "new" Medicare card, offers of "free" braces or equipment, and "free" genetic tests in exchange for your Medicare Number. When in doubt, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) yourself.

• Is a "Your Package Is Delayed" Text a Scam? How to Check the Link

  Treat it as a scam until you check it yourself. USPS says it only texts people who asked for tracking with a tracking number, and those texts won't contain a link, while UPS and FedEx say they don't ask for payment or personal information out of the blue. Don't tap the link: type usps.com, ups.com, or fedex.com into your browser and enter your tracking number there. Then forward the text to 7726 (SPAM) and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

• How Do I Stop Pre-Approved Credit Card Offers and Junk Calls?

  Go to OptOutPrescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688), the official opt-out run for the credit bureaus Equifax, Experian, Innovis, and TransUnion. You can opt out online for five years, or permanently by mailing a signed form. Then register your home and cell numbers for free at DoNotCall.gov or 1-888-382-1222. The registry stops sales calls from companies that follow the law, but it won't stop scam calls.