Cyber Security: Protect yourself Online – Road to Retirement
The holidays are the biggest time of year for scams. And since malicious ads, malware, and phishing attempts have been on the rise over the past three years, this year might be one of the worst when it comes to cyber security.
While cyber attacks on individuals can happen to anyone at any age, they often target older individuals.
Why? Two reasons: technology is usually harder for older adults and older adults tend to have more in savings for retirement. But that doesn’t mean older adults are more likely to fall for it. In fact, certain types of scams (such as investment scams and online shopping scams) are way more likely to affect younger adults than older ones (FTC.gov).
That being said tech support, sweepstake, and imposter scams are way more likely to affect older adults. But these scams aren’t impossible to sus out, so long as you know what they are and some quick tips on how to tell when you’re experiencing one.
Tech Support Scams
You have probably seen these on the news, and you might think “that’ll never happen to me.” But the reason these scams are so successful is because they cast a wide net. Tech support scams happen on a massive scale that most people are targeted by one at least once a week. Most of the time you’re not seeing these because the attempts are being blocked by your internet browser, your email provider, or because we’ve just gotten so good at ignoring them!
Tech support scams usually start in one of three ways: a cold call, an email, or an advertisement. If you receive a call that you were not expecting from someone claiming to be from Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Apple, or any other major tech company, this is most likely a scam. If you’re not sure, hang up. If they say there is a problem with your computer or your account, then it’s definitely a scam, these companies will not call you about an error.
If you get an email or text that says “you have a virus” or “there’s an issue” with your account, do not click any links in that email. Follow the steps you would if you suspected a phishing attempt. Hover over the sender’s email address. If it doesn’t match what they’re saying, then well, that’s probably a scam. You can also go to the correct site on your own and check. A common scam is one that looks like it’s from “Amazon” saying you purchased something expensive. We recommend you actually go to Amazon’s website and check your orders.
Advertisements are usually the most convincing sort of tech support scam. These can be popups that take over your computer screen, they can also be small banner ads that appear on top of the website you’re on, if there’s a big yellow triangle and flashing red lights and text claiming you have a virus, that’s a scam. Think about it this way, did you do anything to prompt a virus check? Probably not. If this happens be sure not to click anything on the ad. We recommend closing that website and avoiding it in the future.
These types of ads are most common on sites that older people are more likely to go to, like online yearbooks and obituary sites. It’s a disgusting practice, so if you’re ever visiting one these sites, be vigilant!
As a general rule, if you’re ever asked to buy crypto currency, gift cards, or to Venmo your money to someone you’re speaking to over the phone, that’s a scam. If they ever ask to have remote access to your computer, that’s a scam. And if they ever ask you to log into your bank while they can view your screen, that’s a scam. They will try to scare you, so be careful!
If you’d like to read more about these scams, the FTC has a great write up about them. Check it out by clicking here:
https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/small-businesses/cybersecurity/tech-support-scams
Sweepstakes Scams
This is one of the earliest forms of “cyber scams,” as these sorts of things were happening on the telegraph! That’s right, people were sending scams in morse code.
You have probably experienced one of these. They (usually a robot) call you and tell you that you won something or that you have something to claim or that you might be entitled to a settlement. They will often say they’re from the government and sometimes might even have some information about organizations you’re a part of. These can come in the mail or over the phone and do everything they can to act as soon as possible.
Here’s how to identify a scam: raffles and lotteries require your participation. You will never win a trip to Alaska out of the blue. Additionally, if they ask for any money or financial information over the phone, that’s a scam. The FTC makes it very clear that you cannot run a sweepstakes for profit.
Our recommendation is to follow the “too good to be true” rule. If it sounds unbelievably lucky, that’s probably because it is. Also. Just so you know, 9 times out of 10 when you enter real sweepstakes, that’s not exactly a fair trade. You usually give your phone number or email address when you sign up under the pretense that that’s how they’ll contact you. In reality, they take that data and either use it for their own marketing/email lists or they sell it to data harvesting companies who will sell your contact information to scammers and spam advertisers.
Editor’s Note: SDPEBA runs a raffle every month for survey participation. We do not share your information or add you to any lists. We do sometimes ask if you want us to email you with more information but that’s always a box you can tick yes or no on. The point of the survey is just to get feedback and to learn what you know about a subject and what you’d want to know, that’s it!
Family/Friend Imposter Scams
These are really scary and are fairly new. Imposter scams are targeted cyber attacks that utilize some type of information against you. There are multiple types of imposter scams, but the most common are family/friend imposter scams.
These scams can be very horrific and play on urgency and danger to get you to act irrationally. When you’re targeted by one of these scams, you’ll probably receive a call, email, or message on social media that is allegedly from someone you know. They will say something along the lines of that they were in an accident or that they were arrested or that they’re in the hospital and that they need money right away and that it needs to be kept a secret.
The phone calls are the most chilling. These scammers often use voice changing software that edits their voice in real time to sound just like your loved one. If you ever receive any messages like this asking for money, double check with mutual friends or other family members first. If that can’t happen, contact them a different way and see what happens. That isn’t always a foolproof way to solve the problem, but it can help.
The FTC has a lot of interesting videos about what this experience can be like on their YouTube channel, check some of them out by clicking the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/@FTCvideos/search?query=scams
SDPEBA also offers a cyber security plan by Aura. This plan is extremely useful and keeps you safe online at around $12 a month. This plan offers tons of features and protects you should you ever fall victim to identity theft. For more information about Aura, click here.