diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent_memory/core/recall.py b/packages/core/src/agent_memory/core/recall.py
index c56eec46..bc368eb5 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/agent_memory/core/recall.py
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent_memory/core/recall.py
@@ -113,7 +113,8 @@ def _eligible(
         return eligible
 
     def _in_scope(self, path: str, scope: str) -> bool:
-        return path.startswith(scope.strip("/"))
+        scope = scope.strip("/")
+        return path == scope or path.startswith(scope + "/")
 
     def _current_at(self, row: sqlite3.Row, moment: dt.datetime) -> bool:
         if timestamp.parse(str(row["valid_from"])) > moment:
diff --git a/packages/core/src/agent_memory/core/slug.py b/packages/core/src/agent_memory/core/slug.py
index de2f6345..ec88613c 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/agent_memory/core/slug.py
+++ b/packages/core/src/agent_memory/core/slug.py
@@ -15,7 +15,12 @@ def slugify(text: str, max_length: int) -> str:
     folded = unicodedata.normalize("NFKD", text).encode("ascii", "ignore").decode("ascii")
     lowered = _SEPARATORS.sub("-", folded.strip().lower())
     cleaned = _RUNS.sub("-", _ILLEGAL.sub("-", lowered)).strip("-")
-    return cleaned[:max_length].strip("-")
+    if cleaned:
+        return cleaned[:max_length].strip("-")
+    # Non-ASCII-only input produces an empty fold. Fall back to a stable
+    # digest so the slug is non-empty and deterministic across calls.
+    import hashlib
+    return hashlib.sha256(text.encode("utf-8")).hexdigest()[:max_length]
 
 
 def is_valid_slug(text: str) -> bool:
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_storage.py b/tests/unit/test_storage.py
index 5459efce..d7789946 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_storage.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_storage.py
@@ -163,3 +163,13 @@ def test_slugify_is_idempotent_and_produces_valid_slugs(config):
         if once:
             assert is_valid_slug(once)
             assert slugify(once, config.storage.slug_max_length) == once
+
+
+def test_scope_filter_does_not_match_similar_prefixes(store):
+    """Regression: scope=user must not match username/, user-notes/, etc. (#17)."""
+    for name in ("user/preferences/a.md", "username/settings.md", "user-notes/x.md", "user2/p.md"):
+        seeded.record(abstract=f"Entry in {name}", type="fact", name=name.replace("/", "-"))
+
+    results = seeded.recall(scope="user")
+    paths = [r["path"] for r in results]
+    assert all(p == "user" or p.startswith("user/") for p in paths), paths