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Las scams with which criminals want to steal information and money from us, are increasingly sophisticated. They impersonate the identity of our bank or telephone company, they even go so far as to offer us suspicious jobs with high salaries and with little effort.
The victims are usually random but in many cases they are directed at some groups or people of a certain age, especially older ones.
And the elderly are especially susceptible to fraud due to their trusting character, lack of experience with digital threats or difficulties associated with age.
Scammers often take advantage of these weaknesses through calls, confusing messages or unexpected visits in order to obtain money or information.
Therefore, protecting especially the most vulnerable is very important so that they know common fraud tactics or teach them how to handle technology safely.
Precisely not long ago we echoed the attempt to scam an 86-year-old man who fortunately knew how to avoid it. They called him telling him that his resume had been selected. Due to his age, logically he was not actively searching for employment, so his response was clear and full of wit. “Well, they did take a while to elect candidates.”
false donation
The National Cybersecurity Institute, INCIBEalso includes the attempted fraud against a senior user through a false donation which he reported through the free and confidential telephone number 017.
According to this organization, the man contacted them following several movements and calls from strangers that sounded quite strange to him.
suspicious charity money
In his case, age was not an obstacle to managing social networks since this man was a regular user.
And precisely through one of them, Facebookreceived a private message from an unknown person’s profile stating that he had been chosen to receive 150,000 euros in order to distribute them charitably.
The old man chose not to hang up immediately and “asked” for more information from his interlocutor, who assured him that the money ““It was from a very old woman who was sick and admitted to a hospital in another country.”
the old woman’s lawyer
Curiously, the next day he received another call that sought to reinforce the suspicious message from the day before. “He presented himself as the old woman’s lawyercorroborating the information and telling him that I was going to send him photographs of the hospitalized woman so that he could trust that everything was true.”
Given the implausibility of the story, the man decided not to continue listening and to call the INCIBE security professionals directly to find out what they were trying to involve him in.
Elderly man sitting on a bench looking at the sea in Spain
money laundering or fraud
In response, the agency confirmed what the man already suspected, that “they were trying to deceive him and that it was a fraud.”
With this modus operandi, cybercriminals try to confuse the victim “by making him think that they are going to deposit money under some type of excuse, but that in reality they are trying to defraud him of some financial amount, or even use him to carry out money laundering.” .
CYBER SCAMS
What to do if we are presented with a similar situation? First of all, we must not follow any type of indication, nor provide personal or banking information, and of course block the user who had contacted us, as well as report it to the social network.
Remember that fraud through social networks is becoming more frequent and takes advantage of users’ trust to obtain personal, banking or money information. They include malicious links, attractive but false offers, fake accounts impersonating well-known people or companies, and urgent messages that appeal to emotions.
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Trash talk (MTurk):
## Protecting the Vulnerable: A Discussion on Elder Financial Fraud
**Welcome to World Today News. Today we’re discussing a particularly concerning trend: the rise of scams targeting older adults. Joining me are two experts in the field:**
**Dr. Emily Carter, a gerontologist specializing in elder financial vulnerability,** and **Detective Mark Johnson, who heads the cybercrime unit specializing in social media scams at the local police department.**
**Dr. Carter, the article highlights the growing sophistication of scams targeting seniors. Could you elaborate on why this demographic is particularly susceptible? What factors make them vulnerable to these tactics?**
**(Pause for Dr. Carter’s response).**
**Detective Johnson, the article mentions instances of scams involving fake donations and job offers. Can you share some other common scams targeting seniors, and how do they typically unfold?**
**(Pause for Detective Johnson’s response).**
**Let’s delve into the case highlighted in the article, where an older gentleman received a suspicious Facebook message. Detective Johnson, what red flags stood out to you in this particular scenario? What steps should people take if they encounter a similar situation online?**
**(Pause for Detective Johnson’s response).**
**Dr. Carter, considering the emotional and psychological impact of falling victim to a scam, what resources and support would you recommend for seniors and their families to help prevent and cope with such situations?**
**(Pause for Dr. Carter’s response).**
**Turning to our broader society, what strategies can we implement both on an individual level and as a community to protect our elderly from these increasingly complex scams?**
**(Pause for both guests to provide their perspectives).**
**We’ve covered a lot of ground today. Thank you both, Dr. Carter and Detective Johnson, for shedding light on this critical issue. Remember, awareness is key to protecting ourselves and our loved ones from falling victim to scams.
Stay tuned to World Today News for continued coverage on this and other important topics affecting our world.**
