diff --git a/engineering-team/senior-fullstack/scripts/project_scaffolder.py b/engineering-team/senior-fullstack/scripts/project_scaffolder.py
index 1a102e1..b5d483e 100755
--- a/engineering-team/senior-fullstack/scripts/project_scaffolder.py
+++ b/engineering-team/senior-fullstack/scripts/project_scaffolder.py
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ from typing import List
 class Settings(BaseSettings):
     DATABASE_URL: str = "postgresql://user:pass@localhost:5432/db"
     ALLOWED_ORIGINS: List[str] = ["http://localhost:3000", "http://localhost:5173"]
-    SECRET_KEY: str = "change-me-in-production"
+    SECRET_KEY: str = "change-me-in-production"  # ⚠️ SCAFFOLDING PLACEHOLDER — replace before deployment
 
     class Config:
         env_file = ".env"
@@ -627,7 +627,7 @@ export default config;
 module.exports = { reactStrictMode: true };
 ''',
         ".env.example": '''DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/dbname"
-SECRET_KEY="your-secret-here"
+SECRET_KEY="your-secret-here"  # ⚠️ SCAFFOLDING PLACEHOLDER — replace before deployment
 ''',
         ".gitignore": '''node_modules/
 .next/
diff --git a/engineering/tech-debt-tracker/assets/sample_codebase/src/payment_processor.py b/engineering/tech-debt-tracker/assets/sample_codebase/src/payment_processor.py
index 010b8b8..db2d0bc 100644
--- a/engineering/tech-debt-tracker/assets/sample_codebase/src/payment_processor.py
+++ b/engineering/tech-debt-tracker/assets/sample_codebase/src/payment_processor.py
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 """
-Payment processing module - contains various technical debt examples
+Payment processing module - contains various technical debt examples.
+
+⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This is an INTENTIONAL example of bad code patterns for
+tech debt detection training. The hardcoded credentials, missing error
+handling, and other issues are deliberate anti-patterns used by the
+tech-debt-tracker skill to demonstrate detection capabilities.
+DO NOT use this code in production.
 """
 
 import json
@@ -13,9 +19,10 @@ class PaymentProcessor:
     
     def __init__(self):
         # TODO: These should come from environment or config
-        self.stripe_key = "sk_test_1234567890"
-        self.paypal_key = "paypal_secret_key_here"
-        self.square_key = "square_api_key"
+        # ⚠️ INTENTIONAL BAD PATTERN — hardcoded keys for tech debt detection demo
+        self.stripe_key = "sk_test_EXAMPLE_NOT_REAL"
+        self.paypal_key = "paypal_EXAMPLE_NOT_REAL"
+        self.square_key = "square_EXAMPLE_NOT_REAL"
         
     def process_payment(self, amount, currency, payment_method, customer_data, billing_address, shipping_address, items, discount_code, tax_rate, processing_fee, metadata):
         """