Senior Citizen Security

Last week, I found the blog on elderly internet safety very interesting, so I’m going to expound on that this week. I looked at a couple of government websites, both of which include an introduction as to why and how the elderly are targeted and lists of surprisingly varied aspects of their safety, ranging from online dating to vacation planning, cemetery fraud and counterfeit prescriptions . 

The first website I looked at was that of the Attorney General. It began with some common precursors to issues that the elderly may have, like a general lack of computer and internet skills. It encourages them to be familiar with security software and secure passwords. It also encourages the elderly to be familiar with how websites work and also how scammers use websites and emails against them. Simply knowing what’s out there can take away the uncertainty and fear that comes along with beginning in technology, and help them to avoid those who want to harm them. The elderly are generally a more trusting generation. All of their lives they’ve been learning how to judge character based of off personal interaction and official looking documents. These rules, however, do not apply to the internet, and the blog highlights the craftiness of scammers in their seemingly kind. An interesting point made by this blog is that elderly also fall victim to cyberbullying. Often this is done by family, either emotionally through angry comments, or financially by gaining access to their accounts and stealing their money.

The other was sponsored by the FBI, and its information is related to why the elderly are targeted and what it looks like. For example, many senior citizens own their own home and have great credit, which makes them very appealing to criminals. Likewise, this blog highlights that scammers know that people who have grown up in the mid-1900s were “raised to be polite and trusting” and are more likely to stay on the line during a phone call. An important point made by this blog is that the elderly are less likely to report being scammed- either because they don’t really know how, or are ashamed that they’ve fallen victim to this type of crime, and don’t want to seem as though they can’t function without assistance. There is also a great appeal to senior citizens for products for healthfulness and vitality or preventative drugs. Insurance and prescription scams are, therefore, common occurrence. 

There are a lot of avenues taken by scammers and phishers to attack the elderly population- definitely more than had occurred to me. It’s so unfortunate, because senior citizens are seeking to remain independent, or at least not be burdensome upon family members, but don’t see through scams like they should. I think it’s increasingly important that the elderly should learn how to use computers and the internet safely and healthfully so that it can increase their independence and allow them to enjoy their last years to the full.