Issue #3 | Friday, October 23, 2026

Hey, it's Troy.

This is the week West Michigan can't make up its mind. High 30s in the morning, patchy fog, my breath showing while I let the dogs out. Then it's upper 60s by the afternoon and the 15-year-old is in shorts like it's July. My daughter's weather chart is still on the fridge, and she's now logging the afternoon numbers too, mostly so she can point at them.

But that's not the big story. The big story is that my 13-year-old said "please" to me without being asked. Twice. In the same sentence.

That should have been my first clue.

The Main Event: The Most Polite Kid in Michigan

Wednesday night I'm on the couch, half watching a game, when my phone buzzes. A text with a six-digit verification code. I wasn't logging into anything. I was trying to stay awake through the fourth quarter.

About eight seconds later, my 13-year-old appears in the doorway. Not walking. Appearing. Like a butler in an old movie.

"Hey Dad. Did you, um, just get a code? Could you please read it to me, please?"

Two pleases. From a kid who usually communicates in shrugs and the word "bruh."

I asked what it was for. Turns out a guy in an online game he plays had offered him a rare item for free. Super nice guy. Very generous. All my son had to do was "verify his account" so the guy could send it over. The guy would trigger a code, it'd go to Dad's phone because Dad's number is on the account, and my son would just read it back to him. Easy.

I want to be clear about something. My son is not dumb. He's sharp, he's funny, and he's the same kid who tried to charge his little sister two dollars to sign a petition last week. But a stranger offering something free to a 13-year-old is like a stranger offering a free sandwich to a Labrador. The deal closes before the brain shows up.

Old me knows two ways this goes. Option one: I'm half asleep, I read him the code, and by Thursday some guy across the world owns his account, everything in it, and maybe my email too. Option two: I get the Dad Voice going, ban the game until he's 30, and give a speech about "the internet." He nods, learns nothing, and next time he just doesn't tell me. That one feels safer. It isn't. A kid who's afraid to come to you is a kid who reads the code himself.

So this time I said, "No. The code stays with me. But come sit down for a second."

I didn't lecture. I asked him one question. "Why would a guy who's giving you something need a code that was sent to my phone?"

He thought about it. You could see the gears. And then his face did the thing. The slow "oh no" face. The face I made when I realized the expensive car wash I bought was just the regular one with a different song playing.

"He's not giving me anything," he said. "He's taking my account."

Bingo.

Here's the thing I told him, and it's something the FTC actually explains pretty well. Your password is the lock on the doorknob. The verification code is the deadbolt. A scammer who has your password still can't get in without the code. So they don't pick the lock. They just get somebody inside to open the door. Usually somebody nice. Sometimes somebody 13.

Then I told him the part that mattered most. He did the right thing by coming to me. He didn't type anything in. He asked. That's the whole game. I'd rather get interrupted during the fourth quarter a hundred times than have him handle this alone once.

Thursday at dinner I turned it into a family meeting. Everybody got the rule: nobody shares a code, ever, no matter who's asking. My 15-year-old said "obviously" in a voice that told me he would have absolutely read the code. My wife reminded everyone she gets one fake "your package couldn't be delivered" text a week. My daughter asked if the scammer was in jail now. I said no, but he's definitely not getting a rare item from us.

And my 23-year-old leaned back and said, "If you ever get a call that sounds like me asking for money, hang up. I have a job. I pay rent." Fair. Also the guy has eaten four of my frozen pizzas this month, so he's not completely off the hook.

No of the Week

For when anyone, anywhere, asks for the code:

Works on scammers. Works on teenagers. Also works on actual toothbrushes, which my 13-year-old needed to hear separately.

The Actual Lesson (I Promise It's Short)

Anyone who asks for your code is a scammer. Not usually. Every time. Real companies don't ask for it, and real friends don't need it. If a message says "just read me the code," the answer is no, and the next step is telling a parent. Here's the FTC's plain-English explainer on verification codes if you want to read it with your kids. It's shorter than this issue.

Make "come tell me" the safest move in the house. If the kid gets in trouble every time they bring you a weird message, they'll stop bringing them. Thank them first. Fix it second. Lecture never, or at least not that night.

Pick a family code word. Scammers can fake a voice now. So if someone calls sounding like your kid, or your mom, or your 23-year-old, and they need money fast, ask for the word. We picked ours at dinner. I'm obviously not telling you what it is. I'll just say the 10-year-old laughed at it for eleven straight minutes.

The Deadbolt for Your Email

After all this I finally did the thing I've been putting off for two years. I got a YubiKey 5 NFC security key and put it on my main email, the account every other password reset runs through. It's a little key that lives on my keychain. To log in somewhere new, you need the actual key in your hand, so there's no code for anybody to talk you out of.

Overkill for a guy whose biggest online secret is how many times he's reordered the same hoodie? Maybe. But it's the one account I can't lose. And now when the 13-year-old asks for a code, I can just show him my keys and say, "Go ahead. Read me this."

Your Turn: Send Me Your Best "No"

Has your kid ever almost fallen for something online? A free gift card, a "you won" pop-up, a nice stranger with a great deal? How did you handle it? Hit reply and tell me. Bonus points if your kid caught it before you did.

I'll feature my favorites in a future issue. First names only, or "a dad who almost bought the gift cards" if you'd rather stay anonymous.

That's it for this week. Go check which accounts have your phone number on them. Then go pick a code word.

Talk next Friday, Troy

P.S. The 13-year-old has gone back to his usual one-word answers. I asked him to take out the trash Thursday and got a "bruh." Honestly, it was a relief. The polite version of him scares me now.

If you buy through a link, I might earn a few bucks. Costs you nothing additional. It goes straight into the frozen pizza replacement fund.