Answer key: Exercise 3, Protect clients

Time: 10 minutes (4 to find details, 4 to write and try the request, 2 to discuss). Handout: Exercise 3.

Say it plainly at the start: nobody pastes these emails into Claude, even though they're fictional. We're practicing the habit, and the habit is "the email doesn't go in."

Every private detail

• Email 1: Marisol Ventura · mventura@example.org · 418 Larkin Ave, Apt 3 · the shut-off date (the 14th) · account number 5527-90114 · children's names and ages (Leo, 6; Ana, 3) · Ana's asthma and breathing machine · birthday 3/9/1991.
• Email 2: Dale Whitcomb · dwhitcomb@example.org · hospital stay and heart surgery · can't work · the $286 amount owed · caseworker's name (Ms. Okafor) · phone 555-0142.
• Email 3: Grace Lindqvist · glindqvist@example.org · 77 Orchard Lane · water shut off yesterday · lost her job at the plant in September · lives with her mother, 81.

People often miss: the caseworker's name (it identifies a third person), the dollar amount (with a date, it can identify an account), and the job at "the plant" (in a small town, that's a short list). Ask the room, "Could someone who knows this town figure out who this is?"

A good request

I work at a nonprofit that helps people pay utility bills. Write a short, kind email reply I can adapt for people who write to us because a power, gas or water bill is past due or already shut off. Explain that we'll need to see the bill and proof of income, how to make an appointment [I'll add our phone number], and that they should ask the utility about a medical hold if someone in the home depends on power for a medical device. Keep it under 150 words and easy to read.

Notice that it keeps the useful kinds of facts (past-due bill, medical need) and drops every detail that points to a person.

Discussion prompts

• "Did Claude still help?" Yes: the template is most of the work.
• "What did you add yourself?" The person's name, their date and amount, the right program. That happens in the organization's own email or case system.
• "What if your organization has its own AI policy?" It wins. Hand out the privacy sheet and point to its first line.

If something goes wrong

• Someone pastes an email anyway: don't shame them; it's fictional and that's why we practice with fake data. Use it: "What would you do if that had been a real client?" (Delete the chat, and tell whoever handles privacy at your organization; see the privacy sheet.)