About Latchstring
Latchstring is a free, independent project that helps everyday people protect themselves from scams, including new AI-powered ones. For now, it covers the United States.
Who runs Latchstring
I’m Rory Partalis. I’ve worked in privacy for more than ten years, running privacy programs at companies including Shazam, TuneIn, TextNow and Classify. My family and I have been victims of identity theft. I built this so others can use what I’ve learned, especially as AI makes scams more common and harder to spot.
I pay the running costs myself. There are no ads, sponsors or affiliate links. Latchstring is independent. It is not a government agency, bank or law firm.
I will never call, text or email you. Anyone who says they’re me and asks for anything is a scammer.
Why the name Latchstring?
On old American doors, a string hung through a small hole so you could lift the latch from outside. Leaving the latchstring out meant visitors were welcome. Pulling it in kept strangers out.
Privacy works the same way: you decide who comes in. The phrase “the right to be let alone” was made famous by an 1890 article that helped start American privacy law.
Our promise
- Free. No fees and nothing to buy.
- No sign-up. No accounts and nothing to sign up for.
- No ads or tracking. No ads, no cookies and no tracking. The site loads nothing from other websites. Like any website, our web host sees basic visit details, such as your internet address.
- We never see your answers. Your checklist lives only in its own page link. Your browser’s history keeps that link too. On a shared phone or computer, use a private window.
- Official sources. Every guide links its official sources and shows when it was last checked.
- Honest about limits. These steps make scams harder, not impossible. We can’t recover money, but we show you who can.
Printable guide
“Hang up. Call back.” is our free two-page guide with the same advice. Print it for someone who doesn’t use the internet, or keep it by the phone.
Is this really us?
We will never call, text, or email you. We never ask for money, codes, passwords, or remote access, and we never offer to “recover” lost money. Anyone who does is a scammer using our name. Our only website is latchstring.org. Always reach it by typing the address yourself.
Where the advice comes from
The steps follow guidance from the Federal Trade Commission, the FBI, the FCC, banking regulators, and the official help pages of phone makers, phone companies and credit bureaus.
- Every step is based on official guidance, and each guide links its sources.
- We link only to official sites on our approved list. Every link is checked against that list before the site is published.
- Each guide shows the month it was last checked. Our rule is to re-check guides at least every six months, and phone numbers every 90 days.