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Trusted People Card

Free · runs on this device · New

Your trusted people

100% freeNo sign-upsNo trackingKeeps working with the internet off

Write down, before anything goes wrong, the people who can help you lock your accounts if your phone is lost or stolen, and the official numbers to call. Print it as a wallet card and make a lock-screen picture that repeats one fact: your bank will never ask for a code or ask you to move money. Everything is made on your own phone and stays there.

The short answer. Agree with up to five people you trust that they will help if your phone is stolen or you are being pressured, keep your bank’s official number on paper, and put the reminder “my bank never asks for codes” on your lock screen.

How it works, in four steps

  1. Fill in the cardFirst names and numbers of up to five trusted people, and your official numbers.
  2. It is made on your own phone or computerWhat you type stays on your phone, and it works with the internet off.
  3. Print it, or download the lock-screen pictureKeep the card in a wallet, a bag or on the fridge.
  4. What this card cannot doIt cannot lock an account by itself. Ask your bank whether its app lets you name trusted contacts or set limits.

Up to five trusted people

Agree with each person first. Use first names only: the card may be seen by others.

Official numbers

Do not write your family safe word, passwords, PINs or account numbers on the card.

What you type stays on your phone

The card and the picture are made inside this page. The page’s security setting (a Content Security Policy, a rule the browser enforces) blocks it from connecting to any server after it has loaded. Nothing is saved: print or download before you close the tab.

If a phone is lost or stolen: the first steps

  1. Lock or erase it from another device. iPhone: Find My, at icloud.com/find. Android: Find My Device, at google.com/android/find. A trusted person can do this with you on their phone.
  2. Call your bank on the number on your card or this card, and ask it to block the banking app and cards on that phone.
  3. Call your mobile network to block the SIM card, so that codes sent by text cannot be received.
  4. Change your email password from another device, because email can reset every other account.
  5. Report it. The official help page lists where, country by country.

Why trusted people help

Some of the worst moments, a stolen phone or a caller putting someone under pressure, are exactly the moments when the account holder cannot act. Mercado Pago, a payment app in Latin America, lets people name up to five trusted contacts who can lock the account from their own phones, and it treats this as part of its defence against fraud, as Mercado Libre describes in the Organization of American States’ 2026 report From Bank to Blockchain. Many banks do not offer this yet. This card does the part anyone can do today: agree who to call, and keep the numbers on paper.

Ask your bank whether its app lets you name a trusted contact, set daily limits or hide balances outside home. Read more in The Digital Trust Deficit, section 6.

What this card cannot do

It cannot lock an account or a phone by itself, and it does not tell your bank who your trusted people are. It is a plan agreed in calm, written down for a stressful moment.

Questions and answers

Who should my trusted people be?

People you would trust with your keys: a family member, a close friend or a neighbour. Agree with them first, and tell them what you would ask them to do.

Is it safe to put names on my lock screen?

The picture shows only first names and the reminder, not account numbers or passwords. If you prefer, leave the names off the picture and keep them on the printed card only.

Should I write my family safe word on the card?

No. A safe word only works if it is never written where others can see it. Agree it face to face and keep it in your head.

Can my trusted person lock my bank account?

Only if your bank offers that feature. Some payment apps let you name trusted contacts who can lock the account. Otherwise your trusted person can help you call the bank and lock your phone from their device.

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The whole method in one book. “How to Become Safer Online” is a free large-print guide to the five steps most scams follow, and what to do if money or details have already gone. Read or print the free book.