Public safety tips

Every tip here traces back to a federal agency's public guidance, rewritten in plain language and grouped so you can find the one you need in seconds. Updated as agencies publish new advisories.

Sourced from public guidance published by the FTC, CISA, FEMA/Ready.gov, the National Weather Service, NHTSA, CPSC, the U.S. Fire Administration and CDC. Federal works are in the public domain; summaries and checklists on this page are original.

Heat Stroke: Call 911 Immediately — Hot, red skin with confusion or fainting is a medical emergency. Move the person to shade, cool them with water, and call 911 right away. CDC
Watch Kids Around Water — Always — Designate a Water Watcher whose only job is supervising swimmers. Drowning is the #1 cause of accidental death in kids 1-4. CDC
Never Leave Kids or Pets in a Car — A car's interior can hit 125°F in minutes, even with windows cracked. Look before you lock — every trip, every time. NHTSA
Swim Where a Lifeguard Watches — Drownings happen fast and silently. Swim only at beaches and pools with lifeguards on duty whenever possible. Red Cross
Rip Currents: Swim Parallel to Shore — If caught in a rip current, don't fight it. Swim parallel to the beach until you're free, then swim back to shore at an angle. NOAA
Drink Water Before You're Thirsty — In hot weather, thirst is a late signal. Drink water steadily throughout the day — avoid alcohol and sugary drinks that speed dehydration. CDC
Life Jackets: Wear, Don't Just Pack — In 86% of boating fatalities, victims weren't wearing a life jacket. Federal law requires one per person — but wearing it saves lives. US Coast Guard
Grill Safely: 3 Feet From the House — Keep grills at least 3 feet from siding, deck railings, and overhanging branches. Never grill indoors or in a garage. NFPA
Fireworks: Leave It to the Pros — Sparklers burn at 1,200°F — hot enough to melt metal. The safest fireworks display is a public one. Watch from a distance. CPSC
Hurricane Season: Know Your Evacuation Zone — Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 – Nov 30. Look up your evacuation zone now — not when a storm is forming. NHC
Lightning: When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors — If you can hear thunder, you're close enough to be struck. Get inside and stay there for 30 minutes after the last rumble. NWS
Check the Back Seat Every Time — Place your phone, bag, or left shoe in the back seat as a reminder to check before walking away from your car. NHTSA
Sunscreen: SPF 15 or Higher — Apply broad-spectrum SPF 15+ at least 15 minutes before going outside. Reapply every 2 hours, and after swimming or sweating. CDC
Wildfire Smoke: Stay Indoors, Run AC — When smoke rolls in, close windows, run AC on recirculate, and use an N95 mask if you must go outside. EPA
Bug Spray: Use EPA-Registered Repellents — Use repellents with DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus to prevent tick and mosquito bites that spread Lyme and West Nile. CDC
Check for Ticks After Time Outdoors — Do a full-body tick check after hiking, gardening, or playing outside. Remove ticks with fine-tipped tweezers, pulling straight up. CDC
Pool Drain Covers: Replace Old Ones — Modern anti-entrapment drain covers prevent suction injuries. If your pool's cover is cracked or missing, don't swim — replace it first. CPSC
Boat Sober — BUI Is Illegal in Every State — Sun, wind, and waves multiply alcohol's effects. Operating a boat while intoxicated carries the same penalties as a DUI. US Coast Guard
Bike Helmets Cut Head Injury Risk 60% — A properly fitted helmet — 2 fingers above the eyebrows, straps snug — is the single best protection for any rider. CDC
Power Outage in Heat? Find a Cooling Center — During heat waves, cities open free cooling centers. Check 211.org or your city's website for the nearest one. Ready.gov
Heat Index, Not Just Temperature — A 90°F day at 70% humidity feels like 105°F. Check the heat index — not just the thermometer — before outdoor work. NWS
Mow in the Morning or Evening — Avoid mowing during peak heat (10am-4pm). Wear sturdy shoes, eye protection, and keep kids and pets indoors while you mow. CPSC
Air Quality: Check Before Outdoor Exercise — On Code Orange or Red days, move workouts indoors. Visit airnow.gov for your local AQI before heading out. EPA
Hot Pavement Burns Paws — If pavement is too hot for your hand for 7 seconds, it's too hot for your dog's paws. Walk pets early morning or after sunset. ASPCA
Hike With Water and a Map — Carry at least 1 liter of water per 2 hours, plus a paper map. Cell service vanishes fast on trails. Tell someone your route. National Park Service
Generators go outside — always — Run portable generators at least 20 feet from the house, away from windows, doors, and vents. Generator CO poisoning kills dozens of Americans every year. CPSC
A way to spot scams: how someone asks you to pay — Let’s say someone contacts you unexpectedly and says you have to pay to fix a problem, get a prize, or something else. But then they say the only way to pay is by bank transfer, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, payment app, or gift card. Well, reports to the FTC show that’s a scam. FTC Consumer Advice
Looking for a substance use disorder clinic? Scroll past paid ads — If you’re searching online for a substance use disorder clinic, the last thing you need is a scam. Unfortunately, some dishonest businesses have used paid search results to trick people into contacting their clinics instead of the ones people were searching for. Here’s how it happened in a recent FTC case: You’re look… FTC Consumer Advice
Make a Family Emergency Plan — Choose a place to meet outside the home and another outside your neighborhood. Memorize an out-of-state contact everyone can call if local lines are down. Ready.gov
Build a 3-Day Emergency Kit — Store one gallon of water per person per day, non-perishable food, a flashlight, batteries, a first-aid kit, and copies of important documents in a waterproof container. Ready.gov
Flood: Turn Around, Don't Drown — Six inches of moving water can knock you down. Twelve inches can carry away a small car. Never drive around barricades or through flooded roads. NWS
Talk about scams during Military Consumer Month 2026 — At the FTC, we know talking about scams helps people avoid them. Military Consumer Month is a great time to talk about ways scammers target the military community to steal their money, benefits, and personal information. Here’s how you can encourage the servicemembers and veterans in your life to share their scam stor… FTC Consumer Advice
Unclaimed life insurance money? It’s a scam — We’ve written about this scam before, but like a bad sequel, it’s back. People are telling the FTC they’ve gotten letters in the mail from law firms about unclaimed life insurance money. Have you gotten one of these? The “lawyer” says that one of their clients, with your same last name, died and you’re the heir to a l… FTC Consumer Advice
Can you spot debt relief scams that target the military? — Scammers promise to solve your debt problems to trick you into paying them instead of your actual lender. If a caller offers to help you enroll in a special “military debt forgiveness” program, pause. That’s probably a scam. Learn how debt relief scammers might target the military and how to avoid the scam. FTC Consumer Advice
When thunder roars, go indoors — The National Weather Service says no place outside is safe during a thunderstorm. Move to a substantial building or hard-topped vehicle and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before going back out. National Weather Service
Turn around, don't drown — Just 12 inches of moving water can carry off most cars and 6 inches can knock an adult off their feet. Over half of all flood deaths happen in vehicles. National Weather Service
Tornado safety: lowest floor, innermost room — Get to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows. Cover your head and neck. Mobile homes are unsafe in any tornado — leave for a sturdy shelter before the storm arrives. National Weather Service
Heat kills more Americans than any other weather hazard — Drink water before you feel thirsty, take breaks in the shade or air conditioning, and never leave children or pets in a parked car — the inside can climb 20 degrees in 10 minutes. National Weather Service
How to spot a postcard scam targeting veterans — Veterans across the country have reported getting postcards in the mail saying they (or their spouse) might qualify for extra monthly veterans benefits. But the “Veterans Savings Program” mentioned in the mailer doesn’t actually exist. It’s just a scammer phishing for personal or financial information. Here’s how this… FTC Consumer Advice
Smoke Alarm: Test Monthly — Test smoke alarms once a month. Replace batteries once a year, the alarm itself every 10 years. USFA
Test smoke alarms every month — The U.S. Fire Administration says working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire nearly in half. Test monthly, replace batteries yearly, and replace the whole alarm every 10 years. U.S. Fire Administration
You may have as little as two minutes to escape a home fire — Plan two ways out of every room, pick an outside meeting place, and practice the drill twice a year with everyone in the household. U.S. Fire Administration
Carbon monoxide is odorless — you need an alarm — Install CO alarms on every level and outside sleeping areas. Never run a generator, grill, or car inside a garage or within 20 feet of a window. CPSC
That unexpected package you got could be a brushing scam — Did you get a package you didn’t order? It could be a brushing scam where a scammer uses your name to leave a fake review for that package you didn’t order. It could also be a sign that someone has (or is looking to steal) your personal information. FTC Consumer Advice
Searching Online: Bill Pay Impersonators — Planning to pay a bill online? Before you start searching for a company’s payment site, know that dishonest companies sometimes use paid search ads to trick you into paying them instead of the company or agency you’re looking for. Here’s how it happens. FTC Consumer Advice
How to spot fake rental listings during a military move — Whether you’ve been planning a move for months or you’re dealing with last-minute orders, military moves can be both exciting and stressful. The last thing you need is a rental scam to raise that stress level, so here’s how to spot them. FTC Consumer Advice
Seat belts saved nearly 15,000 lives in a single year — NHTSA data shows buckling up reduces the risk of fatal injury to front-seat occupants by about 45 percent in passenger cars. NHTSA
Car seats: rear-facing as long as possible — Keep children rear-facing until they reach the top height or weight allowed by the seat, then move to forward-facing with a harness, then a booster until the seat belt fits properly. NHTSA
Reading a text at 55 mph means driving a football field blindfolded — Taking your eyes off the road for five seconds at highway speed covers the length of a football field. Put the phone away before you shift into drive. NHTSA
Struggling with tax debt? Here’s what to know — If you owe back taxes, there are ways to get real help. But dishonest companies will promise to get rid of your debt for “pennies on the dollar,” before even looking into your tax situation. They’ll often charge service fees without actually doing anything for you, and leave you further in the hole with local, state,… FTC Consumer Advice
Are ads on social media vetted or checked for scams? Here’s what to know — You’re browsing your social media feed when an ad grabs your attention mid-swipe: that designer bag you’ve been dreaming of is 50% off for a limited time only! You’re dying to get your hands on one, so you don’t think twice about clicking on the ad. Why would you? The ad is right there in your feed and it looks real,… FTC Consumer Advice
How to spot investment training scams on social media — Learn to trade online! Get rich! Quit your job! Social media is flooded with people flashing fancy cars and exotic trips, claiming you can have the same lifestyle just by “learning to trade.” But they rarely mention the truth: trading is risky, there are no guaranteed returns, and you can lose a lot of money fast. FTC Consumer Advice
Button batteries can burn through a child's throat in two hours — Keep coin-cell batteries and the devices holding them out of reach. If a child may have swallowed one, go to the ER immediately — do not induce vomiting. CPSC
How to talk to your teens about credit and identity theft — Getting ready for college or back-to-school is a good time to talk with your teens about financial wellness. To help guide the conversation, the FTC has free tools on managing money, building credit, and protecting against identity theft. Creating good habits takes time, but here are some ideas to get you started. FTC Consumer Advice
Youville: Helping kids build online safety skills this summer and school year — These last days of summer can present opportunities to spend more time with your kids. If you’re talking with your 8-12 year-olds about making good decisions while they’re online, the FTC has a free tool called Youville to help. FTC Consumer Advice
Have you lost money to a scam? Watch for scammers who say they can help — They’re the worst of the absolute worst: scams that target people who have already lost money to a scam. If you or someone you know paid a scammer, here’s what to know to avoid scammers who pretend to be helpers. FTC Consumer Advice
Are you getting health insurance? — Looking for health insurance? Sometimes shady companies will try to make you think you’re buying health insurance when it’s really a medical discount plan. Watch this video to find out what to know to avoid the scams. FTC Consumer Advice
Talk to your friends and family to fight fraud — One of the best ways to fight fraud is to talk about it. When you know scammers’ tactics, they’re easier to spot and avoid. The FTC has some facts about fraud to help you start the conversation. FTC Consumer Advice
Veterans: Don’t pay to apply for VA benefits — Scammers know that applying for veterans benefits is at the top of the to-do list when you’re getting ready to leave the military. That’s why they pretend to be with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and offer to help you apply for benefits if you pay them — even though it’s free to apply with the VA. So if you’… FTC Consumer Advice
Making a family plan for summer screen time — As summer approaches, your kids might be looking for downtime (and screen time). To keep them safe while they’re spending time online, start with a conversation about your family’s rules and expectations — then consider setting parental controls to help. FTC Consumer Advice
Animal lovers: learn to spot and avoid this breed of pet scams — Scammers have been taking advantage of how much people love animals. They’ll steal and manipulate pet images, videos, and even use AI-generated deepfakes to help them trick you into giving them your money or personal information. Fortunately, there are ways to help you detect and avoid these kinds of scams: FTC Consumer Advice
Veterans: Here’s help to protect your small business — As a veteran, you’ve worked hard to protect our country. And if you’re a veteran-run small business, you know how important it is to have protections against scammers and cybercriminals. Your best defense is an informed workforce, so here are some free resources to help you start the conversation with your team. FTC Consumer Advice
Turn on multifactor authentication — CISA calls MFA one of the single most effective steps you can take. It blocks the overwhelming majority of automated account-takeover attempts even if your password leaks. CISA
Government agencies never demand gift cards — The FTC says any caller asking to be paid in gift cards, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency is a scammer — no exceptions. FTC
CISA Adds Six Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog — CISA has added six new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog , based on evidence of active exploitation. CVE-2015-3246 Red Hat Libuser Race Conditio CISA
Tornado: Get to the Lowest Level — In a tornado warning, move to a basement or interior room on the lowest floor. Stay away from windows. Cover your head and neck. NWS
Wildfire: Pack a Go-Bag Early — When a wildfire is in your area, pack medications, documents, phone chargers, and pet supplies before evacuation orders. Park your car facing out. Red Cross
Hurricane: Know Your Zone — Find your evacuation zone before storm season. Storm surge — not wind — is the deadliest hurricane hazard. NHC
Earthquake: Drop, Cover, Hold On — During shaking, drop to your hands and knees, cover your head and neck under a sturdy table, and hold on until shaking stops. USGS
Kitchen Fires: Cover the Pan — For a small grease fire, slide a metal lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Never use water on a grease fire. USFA
Drive Distraction-Free — Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for about 5 seconds — at 55 mph that's the length of a football field. NHTSA
Buckle Up Every Trip — Seat belts saved nearly 15,000 lives in a recent year. They reduce serious crash injury risk by about 50%. NHTSA
Heat: Watch for Warning Signs — Heat stroke signs: high body temperature, hot dry skin, confusion. Call 911 immediately and move the person to a cool place. CDC
Carbon Monoxide: Install Detectors — Install CO detectors on every level of your home. Never run a generator, grill, or car engine inside a garage or near windows. CDC
Active Threat: Run, Hide, Fight — If safe, run from the area. If you can't, hide behind something solid and silence your phone. As a last resort, fight back with anything available. FBI
Build a three-day emergency kit — Ready.gov recommends one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, a three-day supply of non-perishable food, a battery or hand-crank radio, flashlight, first aid kit, extra batteries, whistle, dust mask, wrench to shut off utilities, manual can opener, local maps, and a backup phone charger. Ready.gov
Make a family communication plan — Pick an out-of-town contact everyone can call, since long-distance lines often work when local ones are jammed. Save the number in every phone and write it on a card each family member carries. Ready.gov
Sign up for local emergency alerts — Wireless Emergency Alerts reach your phone automatically, but county and city opt-in systems deliver evacuation and boil-water notices that WEA does not. Check your county emergency management page to enroll. Ready.gov
Winter driving kit essentials — NWS recommends carrying blankets, food and water, a flashlight, sand or kitty litter for traction, a shovel, jumper cables, and a fully charged phone before winter travel. National Weather Service
Watch vs. warning — A watch means conditions are favorable — get ready. A warning means it is happening or imminent — act now. National Weather Service
Cooking is the leading cause of home fires — Stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling, or broiling. Keep anything flammable at least three feet from the stovetop, and put a lid on a grease fire — never water. U.S. Fire Administration
Space heaters need three feet of clearance — Plug heaters directly into a wall outlet, never a power strip or extension cord, and turn them off when you leave the room or go to sleep. U.S. Fire Administration
Check your tire pressure monthly — Underinflated tires overheat and blow out. Check when tires are cold and use the pressure on the driver's door jamb sticker, not the number on the tire sidewall. NHTSA
Look up your VIN for open recalls — NHTSA's free VIN lookup shows unrepaired safety recalls on your vehicle. Recall repairs are done at no cost by the dealer. NHTSA
Plan a sober ride before you go out — Impaired driving kills roughly one person every 39 minutes in the U.S. Designate a driver, use a rideshare, or stay put. NHTSA
Anchor TVs and dressers to the wall — Tip-overs send thousands of children to emergency rooms each year. Free or low-cost anti-tip kits attach furniture and televisions to wall studs. CPSC
Pool safety: layers of protection — Four-sided isolation fencing at least four feet high with a self-closing, self-latching gate, plus constant adult supervision and swim lessons, prevents most child drownings. CPSC
Never charge lithium-ion e-bikes or scooters overnight — Charge on a hard surface away from exits and bedrooms, use only the manufacturer's charger, and stop using any battery that swells, hisses, or smells. CPSC
Handwashing: 20 seconds with soap — CDC says scrubbing for at least 20 seconds — about the time it takes to hum Happy Birthday twice — removes far more germs than a quick rinse. CDC
Poison help is one phone call away — The national Poison Help line, 1-800-222-1222, is free, confidential, and staffed 24/7 by experts. Program it into your phone. HHS Poison Help
Know the signs of heat stroke — Hot, red skin, confusion, a pounding pulse, and no sweating are medical emergencies. Call 911 and cool the person with water and ice packs while you wait. CDC
Learn Hands-Only CPR — For a teen or adult who collapses, call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest, about 100–120 compressions a minute. It can double or triple survival odds. CDC
Use long, unique passphrases — At least 16 characters, different for every account, stored in a password manager. Length beats complexity. CISA
Recognize and report phishing — Urgency, threats, and unexpected links or attachments are the tells. Don't click — go to the site directly, and report the message to your provider. CISA
Update software as soon as patches arrive — Turn on automatic updates for your phone, computer, browser, and router. Most breaches exploit flaws that already had a fix available. CISA
Freeze your credit for free — A security freeze at all three bureaus blocks new accounts in your name and costs nothing to place or lift. FTC
Report identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov — The FTC's site builds a personalized recovery plan and generates the affidavits banks and creditors ask for. FTC
Test your home for radon — Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. Test kits are inexpensive and many state programs offer them free. EPA
Check the air quality before outdoor exercise — AirNow's daily AQI tells you when smoke or ozone makes outdoor activity risky for kids, older adults, and anyone with asthma or heart disease. EPA AirNow
Call 811 before you dig — Two to three business days before any digging project, call 811 and utilities will mark buried lines for free. Hitting a gas line is both dangerous and expensive. Common Ground Alliance / DOT
Never touch a downed power line — Assume every fallen line is live. Stay at least 35 feet away, keep others back, and call 911 and the utility. Ready.gov
Johnson Controls Metasys — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a low-privilege user or attacker to inject a persistent malicious payload via a crafted URL that executes in the context of other users' sessions, including administrators CISA
Siemens Siveillance Video — View CSAF Summary Siveillance Video Management Servers contains a vulnerability that could allow a Remote Code Execution attack. Siemens has released new versions for the affected products and recommends to update to the latest versions. < CISA
Flow Neuroscience FL-100 — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker within Bluetooth range to manipulate brain stimulation parameters and override safety limits. The following versions of Flow Neuroscience FL-100 ar CISA
Siemens LOGO! Soft Comfort — View CSAF Summary Siemens LOGO! Soft Comfort contains multiple vulnerabilities in its project-file encryption and password handling mechanisms. A local attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities to extract the master key, allowing them to decrypt pro CISA
ANDRITZ HIPASE-250 and 250 SCALA — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to read data from the device or gain access to affected workstations. The following versions of ANDRITZ HIPASE-250 and 250 SCALA are affected:</p CISA
Siemens Solid Edge — View CSAF Summary Solid Edge is affected by multiple file parsing vulnerabilities that could be triggered when the application reads specially crafted files in PAR, PSM or DFT format. This could allow an attacker to crash the application or execute arb CISA
Siemens Simcenter Nastran — View CSAF Summary Simcenter Nastran is affected by a stack overflow vulnerability that could be triggered when an application binary reads arbitrary string as a file argument. If a user is tricked to run one of the impacted application binary with a ma CISA
CISA Malcolm — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to cause a denial-of-service condition or execute arbitrary code. The following versions of CISA Malcolm are affected: Malcolm <26.0 CISA
CISA Adds Four Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog — CISA has added four new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog , based on evidence of active exploitation. CVE-2026-33824 Microsoft Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions Double Free Vuln CISA
Defending Against an Active Threat to Siemens S7 Series PLCs — Executive summary Note: This advisory relates to an active threat to Siemens S7 Series programmable logic controllers (PLCs). However, ongoing PLC targeting activity is broader than Siemens PLCs. All PLC owners and operators should apply relevant mitigations to reduce the risk to their devices and systems. The Siemens… CISA
Johnson Controls Simplex Incident Manager — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a local attacker with low privileges to extract user credentials (passwords and authentication tokens) from system memory, potentially leading to unauthorized access to the app CISA
Ebyte NE2-D11 — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to gain unauthorized administrative access, disclose sensitive information, modify device configuration, hijack authenticated sessions, and disrupt device operat CISA
A Tale of Two SOCs: Insights From Two Red Team Assessments — Advisory at a Glance Title A Tale of Two SOCs: Insights From Two Red Team Assessments Original Publication August 25, 2026 Executive Summary The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) conducted simultaneous red team assessments at two org CISA
Rently Smart Home — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to access sensitive information and override user permissions. The following versions of Rently Smart Home are affected: Smart Home <=2 CISA
PayRange API — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a remote, authenticated or unauthenticated attacker to disclose sensitive information, arbitrarily modify the device to cause a denial of service, or alter a devices displayed CISA
Zoneminder — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could result in full Remote Code Execution (RCE) as the web server user. The following versions of Zoneminder are affected: Zoneminder 1.37.48|1.38.3 </li CISA
Siemens SIMATIC IoT2050 Advanced — View CSAF Summary SIMATIC IoT2050 Advanced devices running Industrial OS with Node-RED installed contain a missing authentication vulnerability in the Node-RED HTTP interface that could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to create malicious flows CISA
FURUNO FA-50 Class B AIS Transponder — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to alter device settings. The following versions of FURUNO FA-50 Class B AIS Transponder are affected: FURUNO FA-50 Class B AIS Tran CISA
Bendix EC80 Brake ECU — View CSAF Summary Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to cause the loss of ABS functions, steering assist, speedometer, shifting capabilities, or disable automatic traction control. The following ver CISA