Having code words is good opsec. We had one as kids decades ago in case a stranger tried to pick us up.
“Your mommy is in the hospital and she sent me to get you.”
“What’s the code word?” No code word, find someone in a uniform or with a name tag.
This is kinda like the whole “What would you do to prepare for a zombie apocalypse?” The answer is the same for a lot of emergency and disaster prep but more fun.
With AI that can replicate your voice or any voice this is a good plan .
It’s more prevalent in Latin America right now, but with the ease of being able to clone the voice of someone that posts on social media, virtual kidnappings are a thing that aren’t going away. So the codeword is actually very relevant today.
Mine was mentioning a problem with a car they don’t have as code for help.
When I was in a very young grade at school, an announcement came over the speakers. It was something intentionally meaningless, like “just a reminder that so and so will be presenting tomorrow”.
My teacher jumped up and closed the window shutters. We were all counted and escorted to the gymnasium. Turns out that message was a coded code silver kind of thing and there were people with guns on the school grounds.
Nobody was harmed; not students nor teachers, nor gun-people, nor police. There were contingency plans in place and practiced and they worked marvellously. I look back and find it kind of neat.
What if that “husband” was already an impersonation of the real husband, so next time they meet both of them they can claim they are the real husband and tell the code word as proof?
Like the Mr MeeSeeks situation. We’ll need to do quantum investigations of their atoms. Verify they are on the same frequency.
With AI deep fakes being used for ransoms, this actually isn’t a terrible idea.
Yeah. I’ve already discussed doing this with family.
This might actually be a decent idea, especially with scammers using AI-assisted voice changes.
Yep, this very common in Japan, especially for elder people and it is recommended to have said word or phrase.
German has a word for it: Enkeltrick
well thats silly now we can all impersonate any German
Nah, he is just saying something confusing. “Enkeltrick” is not referring to a code word, it’s the word we use for the scam scheme where scammers pretend to be the grandkid of elderly to get them to send money
I like that she didn’t share the word. Smart.
Everyone has the same code word. It’s Gunter
Not the worst idea when the most likely scenario is a phone call from a scammer using an AI voice clone to demand random money.
exactly this. Mother in law got one of those calls not long ago.
Having a codeword sounds stupid now, but might be normal in a few years.
Mine is Gizmo
Thanks, now I can scam your family
You’re to slow. I’ve already romace scammed my way to being their new grand-papi and cleaned grandma out.
Boy, I love the future
“honey, you know we’re broke tell the kidnappers I love you and dinner will be ready at 645”
the code may also be useful in more realistic current near dystopia scenarios of receiving a phone call that appears to be from family member. AI/Live voice impersonation is current tech.
Does she have Capgras delusion?
Sounds like something a clone would do immediately after assuming the life of the original, in case the original ever escapes and tries to reclaim their life.
The correct response is for the daughter and wife to agree on a second code word when the husband is being a pain, and insist that he’s not real.
What makes you so certain that it was your husband and not a clone or doppelganger trying to confuse and distract you while setting fire in the house?
I just installed GnuPG on my family members and have them cryptographically verify their identity
Reading my public key out loud before every sentence can be tiring, but it’s the only way we can be safe!
Oh hey Alice, how you doing? Anyways,
30 82 01 0a 02 82 01 …Should only be necessary if one of your family members looks away. Should save you a little bandwidth.
That is exactly what a doppelganger would propose, you already lost.
Now your real husband will never be able to reach to you again.
This is the first thing I’d ask my family to do if I was already the doppelganger.
