How to play
Two ways: on a screen, or on paper
Both teach the same habit. Use the screen to practice, and paper to keep your answers where you can reach them.
On a screen — the practice game
Pick a size, then tap the buttons. That is all there is to it.
Quick Practice
5 messages, about five minutes. Free to play, no sign-in.
Full Practice
45 messages, plus one situation for each of the nine R.E.S.E.T.™ Recovery Paths.
- 1
Read the message
A made-up text, email, phone call, or pop-up appears. Tap “Read this to me” if you would rather hear it out loud.
- 2
Decide: scam or safe
Tap “It’s a scam” or “It’s safe.” Real, safe messages are mixed in with the scams, so you learn to spot the good ones too.
- 3
Name the S.A.F.E. step
Tap the step that fits: Slow Down, Ask Questions, Find Another Way to Verify, or Exit If Unsure.
- 4
Read the answer, then go on
You get a short reason and the step that fits best. Tap “Next message.” Wrong ones just show the better answer.
When the messages run out, you see the four S.A.F.E.™ words again. Then there is a short, calm “uh-oh, I clicked. What now?” round: you pick which R.E.S.E.T.™ Recovery Path fits, see the first steps, and it ends on free help. You can skip it.
- No points, no clock, no losing screen.
- Everything is invented. The names and web addresses are fake on purpose.
- Nothing is saved, and the game asks for nothing about you.
- Educational only — not legal, financial, cybersecurity, or law-enforcement advice.
On paper — the printed sheets
Two printable pages, in your brand colours, ready to hand out or keep at home.
Before & After the Click™ — the printed game
12 made-up messages to cut out and play by hand: read one out loud, say “it’s a scam” or “it’s safe,” then name the S.A.F.E.™ step. The last page has the answers, the step that fits, and the free help numbers.
Open the printed game (PDF)Christmas Passport handout
One page for 14 Days of Thanks: how to play in five minutes, the four S.A.F.E.™ words, Your First 15 Minutes, the free help numbers, and the One-Minute Pause card to cut out and keep by the telephone.
Open the handout (PDF)How to use the printed S.A.F.E.™ booklet
The printed S.A.F.E.™ Before You Click toolkit is 45 pages: “Print it, or type into it and save it.” This booklet has one job: to give you a short, dependable pause before you click, pay, reply, scan, or share. That pause is called S.A.F.E.™.
- 1
Read the next two pages. The S.A.F.E.™ system takes about three minutes to learn. It is four words, in order, and it applies to every scam in this booklet.
- 2
Decide now how you will check things. Pick the app, the website, and the telephone number you already trust. Write them on your fill-in pages. Deciding in advance is what makes you hard to rush.
- 3
Fill in the pages in the back. Your banks, your cards, your trusted people. Write only the last four digits of any account number. Never the whole number.
- 4
Keep it where you can reach it. Beside the computer, in a drawer near the telephone, or in a locked box. Page 31 explains how to store it safely.
After the click, get R.E.S.E.T.™
The printed R.E.S.E.T.™ Recovery Guide is large, easy-to-read print — “Print it or fill it in on your computer.” It opens with Your First 15 Minutes: five calm steps, in order — then the nine Recovery Paths. “Before the click, get S.A.F.E.™ | After the click, get R.E.S.E.T.™”
The same pages live in this app: My S.A.F.E. Plan fills in your trusted people, banks, and cards and prints them out, and After the click shows the R.E.S.E.T.™ steps and all nine paths on screen.
Which one, and when
Use the screen when
- You want to practice on messages that are not real.
- You want something read out loud to you.
- Something is happening right now and you want to ask about it.
Use paper when
- You want the pause card beside the telephone.
- You want to write your banks, cards, and safe word by hand.
- You want something to hand to a family member or leave on the counter.
Educational only — not legal, financial, cybersecurity, tax, or law-enforcement advice. Prepared by Lynda V. Lowe, LVLowe AI Advisors, LLC.