Phishing, online fraud, and financial exploitation targeting older people are proving to be successful.
The risk remains high for people who are isolated, don’t spend a lot of time with digital technologies, and who are at risk purely due to their age, says Anna Collard, SVP content strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa.
“Research has found that older people are more vulnerable to scams because with age we lose the ability to detect manipulation from genuine communication,” says Collard. “There have been numerous studies that have pointed to how cognitive impairments in older people open the door to cyber criminals who take advantage of this.”
It is for this reason that fraudulent messages, calls, or e-mails pretending to be from a struggling grandchild are so popular and successful, she says. Older people need better protection from cyber crime and more insight into the warning signs that could indicate they are being targeted.
The situation has been exacerbated by the pandemic, as many people were isolated or on their own for a long time, which can impact how a person thinks and reacts.
“Unfortunately, this is precisely what criminals take advantage of. While loneliness and isolation are not exclusive to older people in terms of their impact, they do play a role in increasing the vulnerability of older people,” Collard says.
Be wary of intentions
“Scammers are polite, charming, and friendly, that’s how they get your attention and win your trust,” she says Collard. “It is this warmth and kindness that lures people in. Anyone hearing someone being overly nice will be wary of their intentions, whereas someone isolated and lonely may appreciate it and fall prey to the scam.”
It is crucial to help older people recognise these scams with consistent education and awareness, she says.
“Show them how intelligent scammers are and point out the vast size of the industry – there are call centres dedicated to calling people just to scam them."
And it’s not just older people at risk, stresses Collard. Everyone is. "The challenge is to help people recognise the risk and to bypass it effectively.”
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