Safe home fixes
Small, cheap fixes that cut common trip hazards, one room at a time.
JOB SHEET · No. 72 · Safe home · steady knees · no scams
Folks 60+: a safer house and a scam-smart phone
Plain, large-print checklists you can do with a pencil. Start with the free 20-minute phone list.
Free · printable · large print
Scam-Proof Your Phone in 20 Minutes
A free large-print checklist that walks you through the phone settings that quiet scam calls and texts, in about 20 minutes.
- Silence or screen calls from numbers you don't know
- Filter scam texts and report them the right way
- Lock your phone and accounts with two-step verification
- Simple rules to tape up by the phone
Hi, I'm Hank.
Hi, I'm Hank. Retired Tennessee carpenter, owner of a basset hound named Biscuit and a tape measure I won't put down. I'm not a doctor, just a fella who's put up a lot of grab bars.
The checklists here are written by the Porchside team from public guidance: the CDC's STEADI home-safety checklist, and scam advice from the FTC and the AARP Fraud Watch Network. I just say it the way a neighbor would.
On this page you'll find a free list to tighten up your phone, and my kit for the rest of the house. No fuss. Biscuit approves, mostly because he's asleep.
What I share every day
Steady knees
Gentle morning movement and plain talk about knee and foot gadgets.
Scam-Shield Fridays
Every Friday, one common phone or text scam and how to spot it.
The full program
Safe Home + Scam-Proof Kit
Once your phone's done, my Safe Home + Scam-Proof Kit walks you through the rest of the house, room by room.
See what's inside →Start with the free one
Step-by-step phone settings for iPhone and Android, in big print