The same apps that help us stay close are also used for fake “new number” and family-emergency scams.

Level 1 introduced this. Level 2 adds the privacy angle: the more people learn about you from social posts, public albums, or open profiles, the easier it is to make the fake message believable.

What to do:

• Keep your social and messaging details tighter than you think you need.
• Verify strange messages through a known number.
• Treat urgent money requests in messages as suspect, even if the tone feels familiar.

This lesson is part of Staying Connected from Lumoset Foundation, Fort Wayne, Indiana – free, always, with no account and no catch.