Fact · Voice privacy and security
The FTC advises that, when a caller claiming to be a family member demands urgent money, you should resist the pressure to react and send money immediately.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“Resist the pressure to react and send money immediately.”
Scammers Use Fake Emergencies to Steal Your Money, Federal Trade Commission, FTC Consumer Advice, n.d., Advice on how to verify the person's identity.
Open the original- What it measures
- The FTC lists this as the first step in its advice on family emergency scams, before it recommends hanging up and calling back.
- What it does not show
- The advice is general and is written for scams in which the caller says a relative is in trouble. It does not address a request from a colleague or an official.