According to a 2016 study, people aged 50 and greater hold 83% of the wealth in the U.S. That makes them prime targets for scammers, along with the fact that doctors have found that even older people without identifiable cognitive impairment may experience brain changes that put them at “special risk from those who want to take their money.”
Registered nurse Judy is active and still working at age 79. She was defrauded out of almost $200,000 by a telephone scammer who was able to take control of her computer and then persuade her to purchase and turn over the codes to more than 100 Target and Walmart gift cards. She is not alone.
This is one of many financial scams that, although they can happen to persons of any age, often target seniors. Protecting them can be difficult because seniors may be afraid to discuss possible scams with family members out of fear of appearing to be unable to take care of themselves.
Although it is believed that much elder fraud goes unreported due to shame or fear, Bloomberg reports that the elderly lose as much as $36.5 billion a year to fraud and scams. Scams may be online or offline. They may be perpetrated by strangers in a foreign country or by someone close to the victim, even a family member.
Educating elderly relatives about the dangers of scams can help, but it is often not enough. Here are some steps you can take to protect the seniors in your life (or even yourself!) from some common online scams.
- Update their computer systems. If mom is still running Windows XP, it likely has security flaws as that system is no longer supported. Encourage her to update to a newer system and turn on “auto update” so that the operating system is updated as needed.
- Make sure the computer has up-to-date anti-virus and malware software. Consider adding a second malware scanner to catch things missed by the primary software.
- Use a filtered DNS system. This will automatically screen out and prevent access to known phishing and malware sites.
- Secure their Wi-Fi network. Update their router’s firmware and make sure WPA2 encryption is enabled with a strong password and a non-default network name.
Of course, not all scams are online. Here are some tips to protect against offline scams.
- Un-list their phone number. Consider replacing the landline with a cell phone to reduce the number of scam calls. (There are apps to further cut the number of scam callers.)
- Opt out of direct mail solicitations. The Direct Marketing Association lets you opt out online for a $3 fee. Let your parents know that legitimate marketers will honor their choice, so any mail solicitations they receive are likely to be scams.
- Check your parents’ credit reports. AnnualCreditReport.com provides free credit reports from each of the bureaus once a year allowing you to verify that fraudulent accounts have not been opened in their names.
Although seniors may resist being “protected,” often the best protection is being involved in their lives. Many seniors get involved with scammers because the scammers call and talk to them, easing their loneliness.
