Protecting the Elderly from Scams
Scammers go after anyone and everyone, but when the victim is over the age of 70, there’s a higher chance the deception will work. The amount of money lost to fraud also increases with the age of the person being targeted. What can we do to protect our elderly friends and loved ones from scams?
Prevention Plan
Preventing scammers from reaching your phone or inbox is a great first tool against fraud. Help the seniors in your life to enter all of their known contacts into their contact lists, so any spam calls or email are more noticeable. It may seem rude to the older generations, but help them realize it’s okay to let an unknown caller go to voicemail rather than answering a call from a potential fraudster.
Once they receive a call that is obviously from someone up to no good, make sure to have them block and report it. The same goes for spam or “phishing” emails. Many email services have a one-click solution to mark an email as spam and report it back to your provider. Additional emails from that address will no longer make it past their spam filter.
Detection Plan
Knowledge is definitely power when it comes to avoiding scams. Talk to the elderly people you know about common scams happening in your area and by phone or email. Showing them screen shots of what a “phishing” email may look like, or how an email may look like it is from someone they know, but the actual email address doesn’t belong to them. Help develop responses they can use for aggressive “sales” calls.
Warn them about never relaying account numbers, social security numbers or passwords to anyone over the phone or by email. Many fraudsters will ask for payment by wire, gift cards or even crypto currency to make it more difficult to trace or pay back. Having a plan in place to call someone else when asked for unscheduled payments is a great defense as well.
Recovery Plan
If someone vulnerable does fall for a bogus scheme, help them realize it’s not their fault. Shame should not prevent them from reporting it to the FTC or local law enforcement or consumer protection office. They should keep an eye on their credit score, or perhaps put a lock on it to prevent new accounts being opened in their name.
Lastly, helping elderly friends stay in contact with others, helping them with their financial or technology questions and keeping an open dialogue about hoaxes and fraud can also help them stay one step ahead of those scammers.
Cultris Security is here to help. Contact us at 281-506-8466 or online.
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