Tips senior citizens must be aware of to protect themselves from online scams 22nd November 2022
Online scams have been on a stupendous rise, mainly because of the easy availability of smartphones and internet services. People are increasingly falling prey to unreal promises of big rewards and prizes offered by online scammers working 24x7 and trapping innocent people into their nets. They intend to make quick money by cheating them. Senior citizens are often more susceptible to such frauds as they are unsuspecting and trust people more easily.
Here are a few tips that senior citizens must be aware of to protect themselves from online scams.
1. Educate them:
Senior citizens are usually less proficient with modern technology. Hence, they are at higher risk of being targeted by online scammers for revealing their credit/debit card numbers, passwords, CVV and OTP, etc. The first step is educating senior citizens about the clever tactics and strategies of such online scammers.
They will then know not to trust messages with promises to get a handsome amount as a gift or prize, unreal discounts on products, or share personal information about their bank accounts, insurance policies, enter their personal information into forged or phishing pages, etc. They must be informed that they should never click on any suspicious link or respond to messages from unverified and unknown people.
2. Call blocking:
Several applications are available that help identify the caller and automatically block calls from spammers. Senior citizens should install such applications on their mobile phones so that they know beforehand that the incoming call is genuine or spam. Also, they can block spammers on their phones so they will not be able to call or harass them.
3. Use social media wisely:
Senior citizens should use social media wisely. They should refrain from posting photos and updates that reveal their daily schedule and activities. Scammers often use information you share on social media as a tool to pose as you, befriend your friends and known people and ask for financial help from them. They should lock their profile photo so that scammers cannot impersonate them on social media. Also, they should only accept friend requests from familiar people.
They should always double-check before helping any person financially through social media connections. If they get a message from their friend or relative asking for help, they should call him personally to ensure that the request for help is genuine.
4. Ask for help:
Senior citizens should never hesitate to ask for help from others if they feel that they are being targeted or have become a victim of an online scam. Scammers are talented and may ask them to act quickly to benefit from the limited-time deal. Also, they may threaten them with bank account blockage or closure if they do not share their important card and bank details.
Senior citizens should call their family members immediately and tell the situation correctly. Also, they may contact the respective call centre to verify the claims of the scammer before acting on them.
5. Reliable anti-virus:
Senior citizens should use strong anti-virus software so that their device is not affected by viruses, malware or spyware sent by scammers or hackers. They must configure their devices to download updates regularly and install them to keep them up-to-date.
Senior citizens should be thoughtful and proactive to protect themselves from the menace of online scams. They should be aware of scammers active in the field of insurance, telemarketing, and banking, etc.
Senior citizens should opt for a theft protection insurance to cover themselves from such thefts and fraud. It will protect them against all types of theft, including fraud and embezzlement.
Click HERE to buy a theft protection insurance to stay protected from online scams.
Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.