The 4-step reflex, with a case study

You can't become an expert in spotting deepfakes, and you don't need to. What really protects you is a simple reflex, always the same, that you apply as soon as a message or a call asks you to act. It comes in four steps.

1. Stop

As soon as you feel urgency, fear or excitement rising, that's the signal: you stop. You don't send anything, you don't click anything, you don't give any code. The scammer needs you to act in the next few minutes; you need two minutes to step back. A useful line: "I'll call you right back."

2. Check through another channel

Never check using the means the other person gives you. The link in the text, the number given over the phone, the email address: all of these can be controlled by the scammer. Use a channel you already know: the number in your contacts, your bank's official app, the website whose address you type yourself, or a visit in person. A suspicious call? Hang up and call back. An email from the "boss"? Call them on their usual number.

3. Never pay in a rush

No real emergency requires immediate payment by prepaid card, cryptocurrency or transfer to an unknown account. Neither your bank, nor the police, nor a public service will ever ask you to "keep your money safe" by moving it, or to read out a code you received by text. If someone asks you to, it's a scam, whatever the voice on the line.

4. Talk about it

The scammer is counting on secrecy: "Don't tell anyone." Do exactly the opposite. Tell a loved one, a colleague, your bank. An outside view, not caught up in the emotion, often spots the scam within seconds. And if you were taken in, there's nothing shameful about talking about it: these scams are designed by professionals to catch everyone.

Case study

Tuesday, 6 pm. Your phone rings, and the number displayed is your bank's. A calm, professional voice: "Hello, fraud department. A payment of 1,200 euros has just been attempted with your card, abroad. To block it, I'm going to send you a code by text: read it out to me to confirm the cancellation. Please be quick, the transaction will go through in ten minutes."

• Stop: the urgency ("ten minutes") and the fear ("1,200 euros") are there. That's the signal.
• Check through another channel: the displayed number proves nothing. You hang up, then open your bank's app or call the number printed on the back of your card.
• Never pay in a rush: a code received by text is used to approve a transaction, not to cancel it. Reading it to someone means giving your consent. Your bank will never ask you for it.
• Talk about it: you report the attempt to your bank, and you tell your loved ones about the call, especially the older ones, because this scenario is going around.

Result: no loss, and one more person around you who knows the trap.