Numbers and incident log
The phone numbers you copied from your own cards and statements, the reporting sites and help lines, and a log for the day something goes wrong.
Essential on a first pass: Numbers I trust (Recognizing scams), with your bank, card and phone company numbers copied from your own cards and statements. The incident log is essential only on a day something is wrong (When something goes wrong); otherwise it waits. The code word sheet records who knows the word, never the word.
Never type a password, PIN, passcode, backup code, security answer, full card or account number or Social Security number into these sheets. Write where a thing is kept, not the thing. The sheets are saved in this browser and printed on paper, so treat them like your other important papers.
Numbers I trust
Essential on a first pass (Recognizing scams). Copy each number from the back of your card, your statement or the official site you typed in yourself, never from a text, an email or a caller. Never type a password, PIN, passcode, backup code, security answer, full card or account number or Social Security number here. Write where a thing is kept, not the thing.
Incident log
Essential only when something is wrong (When something goes wrong); otherwise it waits until you need it. One row per thing you did.
Family code word
Optional on a first pass (Recognizing scams). Write who knows the word. The word itself is never written here or anywhere online.
How to use this sheet
- Copy numbers from something you hold. The back of your card, a paper statement, or a site you typed in yourself. Never from a text, an email, a search ad or a caller.
- On a bad day, write as you go. One log row per call or report, with the reference number and the date to follow up.
- The agency rows come from the agencies' own pages, checked 2026-10-19 (who to call).
Ruth Alvarez copied three numbers onto this sheet: Saguaro Federal Credit Union (fictional) from her debit card, her credit card company from the card, and her phone company from her bill. Names and details are invented.
The log is your record of what you did and what you were told. It does not decide whether money comes back; the bank, the card company and the law decide that.