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We all know what it’s like to have that feeling in the pit of your stomach screaming that something’s just not right. Your taxi driver might be asking too many personal questions, the man that’s been walking behind you keeps getting closer and closer, or the only other passenger on your train seems to be staring you down.
It can be difficult to know how to navigate these situations, but thanks to Cathy Pedrayes, there are some useful lies we can keep hidden up our sleeves to keep ourselves safe. Below, you'll find some of the most common “situations when it’s best to lie” that Cathy has detailed on TikTok, as well as a conversation with the Mom Friend herself. So enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to take a mental note of any of these fibs you plan to utilize!
More info: TikTok | Instagram | MomFriendGuide.com
Over the past few years, Cathy Pedrayes has been sharing little white lies that can keep people safe in various situations with strangers
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
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Sue Denham Sue Denham Community Member Follow
If I'm leaving the house and no-one else is home I often wave as if someone's still there.
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#2
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Tiny Dynamine Tiny Dynamine Community Member Follow
"None of your business, f**k off."
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#3
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DarkViolet DarkViolet Community Member Follow
Good move. Surrounded by empty seats, and he chooses the one right next to you.
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Cathy Pedrayes, also known as the “Mom Friend,” is an author, television host and bilingual social media influencer. After she started sharing safety tips on TikTok, her comments section became flooded with replies saying she must be “the mom friend of the group,” so ever since then, she’s proudly claimed the title. “With her signature blue dress and pearls, Cathy's content includes safety life hacks, tech and cyber security,” Pedrayes’ site explains. “Her content is inspired by city living, traveling, her Latina roots and her experiences being a new mom.” We reached out to Cathy via email to hear more about the background of this video series, and lucky for us, she was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. “The series is based on training I received while working as a host on national TV (I was a QVC host),” the Mom Friend shared.
#4
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Black Cat Black Cat Community Member Follow
I resent that we have to pretend to be with a man in order to be safe. I had this happen to me and I just stated daggers at him. He got the message.
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#5
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Julia Mckinney Julia Mckinney Community Member Follow
I've used that one before! I don't remember which store name I used though.
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#6
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Zedrapazia Zedrapazia Community Member
If someone would tell me their BF is tracking them I'd be honestly more worried than anything
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“We were told that in public we might be approached if someone recognized us, and sometimes people are excited to see you're in their neighborhood. So they might ask questions like, ‘Do you live around here?’ or, ‘Is this your regular grocery store?’” Cathy explained. “We were taught to respond in a way that was friendly without giving away our personal details, since there was a long history of harassment and stalking amongst my colleagues.” “For the most part, I had forgotten about this training until 2020. I was at a grocery store, and a clerk asked if I lived in the neighborhood,” the Mom Friend continued. “He was suggesting things to do in the neighborhood– I'm sure it was a completely innocent question, but all of a sudden my old training came rushing back and that scenario was in my first video.”
#7
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I_am_a_dinosaur I_am_a_dinosaur Community Member Follow
And then you have an extra if you lose one
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#8
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DarkViolet DarkViolet Community Member Follow
Nothing like emotional blackmail to enhance a relationship. 😐
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#9
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Black Cat Black Cat Community Member Follow
Or have a high vis vest or men's undies hanging on the line.
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Cathy shared that the series began with things that had happened to her personally, and since then, she’s shared over 60 videos including her life experiences, as well as requests and inspiration from others. But she doesn’t expect to run out of content any time soon. “I thought I might run out of ideas in 2020 when I created the first version of the video, but 3 years later we're still going,” the Mom Friend says. ADVERTIsem*nT
#10
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Coralinea 7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017
While the taxi driver is driving the biggest detour of all time, enjoying the extra money.
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#11
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Jared Robinson Jared Robinson Community Member Follow
Better yet, you live on base with military police friends.
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#12
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Alexandra Davis Alexandra Davis Community Member Follow
Surely most phones don't get signal in lifts? Unless you're making a pretend call?
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We also asked Cathy why it’s so important for women to know that they can bend the truth in situations like these. “Sometimes we just need permission,” she told Bored Panda. “What's great about this series is that everyone has experienced these scenarios and in the moment been caught off-guard about how to respond. The series arms you with quick responses, so that you're not caught off-guard. It's about awareness, preparation and permission.”
#13
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Julia Mckinney Julia Mckinney Community Member Follow
Put the radio on.
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#14
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Brazen Brazen Community Member Follow
I had that happen before and I just stared at him and asked "why?". Made him so uncomfortable he mumbled "nevermind" and left.
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#15
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Kristine Wagner Kristine Wagner Community Member Follow
I'm sorry if you witnessed a crime. You need to speak up! Otherwise, you're part of the problem and not the solution!
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Cathy also says she wears her "Mom Friend" medal proudly. “I love being the prepared friend, the reliable one that people can turn to, and I think everyone needs someone like that. The downside for me is that I have no idea what it feels like to travel light!” she shared with a smile. ADVERTIsem*nT
#16
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H Nunya H Nunya Community Member
Since they might still harass you expecting you to have your own number memorized, there’s a handy list of fake numbers that are great for this situation. Just pick one of the still functioning ones to memorize and hand that out anytime. And give them a fake name to create the fake contact, probably the fake name you use to order food so you have it easily memorized.
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See Also on Bored Panda
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#17
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H Nunya H Nunya Community Member
This might work better if you use the earlier, “just running errands” excuse.
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#18
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H Nunya H Nunya Community Member
Unfortunately because this is the world we live in, preferably a strong looking friend because anyone else gets taken advantage of, and even better if it’s a friend who knows a lot about the work you’re getting done so you don’t get scammed.
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While it may seem completely normal to share personal information on social media and in casual conversations nowadays, we might be unintentionally putting ourselves at risk all the time. One of the dangers that can come from revealing too much about ourselves to strangers is the risk of identity theft. Identity theft occurs every 22 seconds, the National Council on Identity Theft Protection reports, and a third of all Americans will face some form of identity theft during their lifetimes.
#19
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Deborah B Deborah B Community Member Follow
This is a screening question: does this person have a partner they are hiding. Evading the question can be a red flag. If you like the person you're chatting with, try "Just my flatmates" or "I have a friend sleeping on my counch while she's between places".
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#20
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Brazen Brazen Community Member Follow
I would just say "no" to that one.
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#21
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DarkViolet DarkViolet Community Member Follow
Silence says more than words.
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You can also never be too safe when it comes to traveling alone or dealing with strangers. We know not to reveal our addresses to people we don’t know, but we often forget that when taking a taxi home late at night or ordering a pizza for dinner. But sadly, the risk of being kidnapped doesn’t disappear at any point in our lives. In the United States, there were over 520k missing persons reported in 2018, and in 2020, over 4.4k people were kidnapped due to terrorism. And if you’re an online dater, be extremely cautious with what information you reveal, as internet dating sites are the most popular recruitment locations for human trafficking. ADVERTIsem*nT
#22
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StrangeOne StrangeOne Community Member Follow
Nope. And head over to alert a staff there's someone's soliciting rides to unsuspecting travellers.
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#23
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The Blue Spirit The Blue Spirit Community Member Follow
Mama?
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#24
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Trish Trish Community Member Follow
I must be getting old. Snap means something different to my generation. (Don't give him the snap on the first date)
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As great as it is to give others the benefit of the doubt, in this day and age, we also need to be aware of the dangers in our world. We all know to hide our valuables in safe places when visiting areas that are frequented by pickpockets, but it’s easy to forget that we can alter our language to keep ourselves safe as well. Don’t be scared to be vague or slightly dishonest with strangers. Best case scenario, they’ll never find out you were lying, and worst case scenario, they’ll never be able to track you down anyway!
#25
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Mabelbabel Mabelbabel Community Member Follow
I've told my step kids that if they are on a night out with friends, I'll be there to pick them up, no matter what time of night it is. There's been a couple of times when my daughter has collected a stray, one was a girl who's friends dumped her for a "joke" while she was in the bathroom and she ended up on her own, another was one who had a lot to drink, and was being hit on aggressively. My girl stepped in, said "mom's parked out front, we have to go" and got her away. On the one hand, I'm glad she's a quick thinker with common sense, but on the other, it's awful that she has to think of protecting herself and others rather than just enjoying the night.
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#26
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Tiny Dynamine Tiny Dynamine Community Member Follow
Once again, giving them power by even answering.
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#27
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H Nunya H Nunya Community Member
Try to convince them that you’re just visiting a (try to shoot for a male aligning name because suckily that’s the world we live in) friend and you just like the neighborhood, unless they absolutely know for a fact that you live there. And if they’re asking about the schedules of your neighbors, that’s extremely sketchy!
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We hope you’ve learned something useful from this list that you might be able to utilize in the future, pandas. Of course, it’s best not to lie in most scenarios, and it would be awesome if we could simply trust the strangers we encounter in the world. But unfortunately, that’s not always the case, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. Keep upvoting the fibs you find most brilliant, and if you haven’t read it already, be sure to check out Bored Panda’s previous article featuring Cathy Pedrayes!
#28
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General Anaesthesia General Anaesthesia Community Member Follow
That probably depends on the job to be done, but most handyjobs can be pretty noisy. Handyman: "well, the only thing I can do that won't wake him is screw. Shall we get that out of the way before the drilling?"
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#29
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StrangeOne StrangeOne Community Member Follow
None of anyone's business and I would, again, go to staff.
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What do you think ?
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Jill Rhodry Jill Rhodry Community Member Follow
I wonder if many men are aware of how much situational awareness women need and just how exhausting it is to simply exist as one.
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General Anaesthesia General Anaesthesia Community Member Follow
Aware enough to know that even though I'm the last person in the world to pose a threat, she doesn't know that. As a fellow human it's up to me to give her a few seconds' respite by just respecting her space, though I don't know if that works at all.
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Kat Kat Community Member Follow
Ppl in the comments that say “just say no” are idiots. We try that. Do you think we would need lists like this if it worked? The quickest way to get a guy to leave you alone is convincing him you have a bf. Bc creepy men only respect other men. They don't take no as an answer.
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TMoxraaaar TMoxraaaar Community Member Follow
Women are regularly killed for just saying no. Really
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Daria Daria Community Member Follow
Seriously, is it normal to have so much small talk with strangers? It's creepy af.
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sturmwesen sturmwesen Community Member Follow
Maybe it's regional? For me it's not really relevant. But I am not attractive or approachable. Gonna have to ask hot or more approachable looking friends.
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Jill Rhodry Jill Rhodry Community Member Follow
I wonder if many men are aware of how much situational awareness women need and just how exhausting it is to simply exist as one.
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General Anaesthesia General Anaesthesia Community Member Follow
Aware enough to know that even though I'm the last person in the world to pose a threat, she doesn't know that. As a fellow human it's up to me to give her a few seconds' respite by just respecting her space, though I don't know if that works at all.
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Kat Kat Community Member Follow
Ppl in the comments that say “just say no” are idiots. We try that. Do you think we would need lists like this if it worked? The quickest way to get a guy to leave you alone is convincing him you have a bf. Bc creepy men only respect other men. They don't take no as an answer.
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TMoxraaaar TMoxraaaar Community Member Follow
Women are regularly killed for just saying no. Really
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Daria Daria Community Member Follow
Seriously, is it normal to have so much small talk with strangers? It's creepy af.
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sturmwesen sturmwesen Community Member Follow
Maybe it's regional? For me it's not really relevant. But I am not attractive or approachable. Gonna have to ask hot or more approachable looking friends.
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