Secure Your AI Use · Lesson 1Free ~12 min · No code

Use AI safely — what not to paste, and why.

AI is powerful and easy to use carelessly. This lesson is the simple habits that keep you and your company safe: what's risky to share, how to spot AI-powered scams, and the rules that prevent most mistakes. No code.

The mental model

Most AI risk isn't exotic hacking — it's a few avoidable habits. Fix those and you're ahead of most organizations.

The two biggest risks are simple: pasting sensitive or customer data into the wrong tool, and getting fooled by AI-powered scams. Neither needs a security background to avoid — just a couple of habits applied every time.

The reframeTreat a chat box like a postcard. Assume anything you paste could be seen or stored somewhere you don't control. If you wouldn't write it on a postcard, don't paste it into a tool you haven't vetted.

Step 01 · Paste it, or don't?

The single most common mistake is pasting the wrong thing. Tap each — safe to share with a general AI tool, or keep it out?

The rule: keep it general, or use a tool your company has approved with the right data protections. When in doubt, strip the names and numbers and ask about the situation in the abstract.

Step 02 · Spot the AI-powered scam

AI makes scams cheaper and more convincing — fake voices, perfect phishing, deepfakes. Tap each message: legit, or a scam to verify first?

Urgency + an unusual request + a new payment path = verify before you act, every time. AI can fake a voice or a writing style perfectly. Confirm on a separate, trusted channel — a known phone number, in person — never by replying to the suspicious message itself.

Step 03 · The habits that prevent most mistakes

Keep it general — strip names, numbers, and identifiers before you paste.
Use approved tools for anything sensitive — know which your company has vetted.
Verify on a second channel for any urgent money or data request.
Slow down — urgency is the scammer's main weapon; a 60-second check defeats most attacks.

Your challenge: tighten your habits

List the three most sensitive things you've been tempted to paste — and how to ask in the abstract instead.
Find out which AI tools your company has actually approved.
Set one rule: verify any urgent money/data request on a known number.
Share these habits with one colleague.

✓

Lesson complete

You know what's risky to share with AI and what's fine, can spot AI-powered scams and fakes, and have the simple habits that prevent most mistakes.

Up next

Lesson 2 · An AI policy your team will actually follow

Continue to Lesson 2 →

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