Remember what life was like before the internet? It wasn’t so long ago that we’d get our directions from maps instead of apps and read our news from the paper, rather than online. At one time a blog like this probably would have made its way into your mailbox in the form of a newsletter, and if you’d wanted to get in touch, you’d need to look us up in the telephone book – but now, almost everything can be found online, and older Australians have been quick to embrace it!
From online shopping and banking to connecting with friends in faraway places and streaming videos, we’re using the internet in our daily lives more than ever before. Of course, this comes with both benefits and drawbacks – because while technology can make life easy and convenient, it can also open us up to the risk of falling prey to scammers and fraudsters.
Scams targeting retirees
If you’re reading this, it’s probably safe to say that you’re probably pretty familiar with technology, but even the tech savviest amongst us may find that they become targets for scams.
Unfortunately, online scammers often look to exploit older generations. Last year, the ACCC reported that 76% of scam activity affected people aged over the age of 50, and that Australians lost more than $2 billion to online scams.
For those who have already retired, or who are nearing retirement age, it can be devastating. So, what can you do to protect yourself? First, you should make yourself familiar with common scams.
Here are a few that you might come across:
Romance scams
Romance scammers hide behind fake online profiles and gain your trust over time. Once they have this, they manipulate their targets into believing they have health issues, family problems, travel expenses or other personal issues and ask for financial assistance or gifts. Scammers of this nature can be very convincing because they’ve taken a long time to build a relationship with you.
Warning signs
- Fast and intense declarations of love
- A preference to communicate through email or instant messaging rather than an official dating platform
- A change from affection to desperation or threats if you don’t meet their requests
- They’ll usually make a small request first to test if you’ll comply with a bigger request later
- Preying on a vulnerability such as isolation, age or a language barrier
Investment scams
Investment scams prey on the desire to get rich quick by promising quick cash or high returns. You may come across this scam through cold callers pretending to be investment managers, or people on social media sharing a chance to at a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity that requires you to act fast to get a good return.
What to look out for
- Emails, SMS or calls that sound too good to be true?
- Offers that are seemingly low risk and high reward, especially if there’s a time pressure on accepting them
- Claims of celebrity endorsements (this is common with cryptocurrency). See more
- Typical investment scams include real estate and property projects, superannuation, share and stock promotions, foreign currency and binary trading
- Check that the company or person contacting you has an Australian Financial Services licence or look them up on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Remote access scams
Remote access scammers aim to access your computer or device from a remote location to get your personal information. They’ll give a fake but credible story as to why they need access. Watch out if you’re contacted by someone claiming to be from a bank, phone company, government agency or computer software company needing to reset your password, verify your account, update security settings or improve your internet connection.
Important tips
- Never provide remote access, personal details or login details to anyone, especially if they’ve cold-called you
- If you think the caller is genuine, call them back on a number listed on their website, don’t call them on a number they give you
- Don’t use the details or visit the link from the message you’ve received as it’s likely fake
- Make sure your computer has up to date anti-virus software installed and run regularly.
Email and SMS scams
These are also known as ‘phishing’ and ‘SMShing’ scams. These look like a genuine email or SMS and contain links or attachments leading to malicious software or fake websites often asking for personal information. Always navigate to online banking and other websites yourself (don’t use links in emails or SMS) so you know they’re genuine.
Important tips
- Contact organisations directly using details from their website, don’t use those supplied in an email or SMS
- We’ll never ask you to disclose, update or confirm personal or banking information in an email or SMS
- We’ll never send you a direct link to online banking
- Before clicking a link, hover your mouse over it to see where the URL will take you
- Never open an attachment you weren’t expecting, especially if it’s attached to a suspicious message.
Warning signs
- Poor spelling or grammar and similar (but not quite right) email addresses, names, logos and URLs
- Messages asking you to urgently verify your account or log in to pay a bill or fine
- Requests from overseas asking you to forward money or letting you know that you’ve won a prize.
Staying safe online: Tips for retirees
So, what can you do to avoid catching the attention of a scammer and how can you keep yourself safe online? Keep a few of these tips in mind.
Use strong and unique passwords
Passwords should contain at least eight characters and include numbers, symbols and upper and lower case letters. You should also avoid using common names or words that may be easily guessed. Where possible, you should enable multi-factor authentication.
Make use of privacy settings
Most social media sites will allow you to control your privacy settings. On Facebook and Instagram for example, you can update your settings to restrict who is allowed to see your posts. You can choose to allow only close friends to see your posts for example, or set specific posts to only be visible to certain people. When using social media, it’s a good idea to take the time to think about what information you’d like to be publicly available. Updating your settings to ensure that strangers can’t find your personal information can help to protect you online.
Think before you share
Before sharing anything online, it’s important that you take the time to consider what people might do with the information you’re giving them. It’s always a good idea to be cautious about sharing anything too personal, like your address, phone number or location.
Report abuse
Cyberbullying can happen to anyone at any age. If someone is sending your abusive or threatening messages online, don’t respond. Reach out to someone you trust for help and support and report the behaviour to the site or service that you are using. Keep a log of any abuse you receive as evidence.
Look for secure websites
When shopping online or banking, ensure you navigate to the site by searching for it or typing the url in yourself. Never click a link, as it’s a common phishing scam to create legitimate look websites to steal your personal information. Look for a website with a https address to, as this shows that the site is secure.
Shop with safe online payment services
When shopping online, it’s best to make payments with a credit card or online payment service like Paypal. That way, if something goes wrong and there’s a dispute, you can feel confident that your credit card company or payment service provider will give you your money back.
Monitor your financial account
To help protect yourself from financial crime or identity theft, you should monitor the activity on your accounts regularly, and keep an eye on your credit score. You’ll find that there are a number of online credit check services that will monitor your credit for you and provide you with updates when new activity is detected.
Speak to friends and family. One of the best ways to stay safe online is to keep those you trust informed. In the same way that we should all watch out for each other in the real world, it’s also important to watch out for each other online. Let the people you trust know about your online activities, as they can help to identify if anything is raising any red flags.
What to do when you think you’ve been scammed
If you think you’re the victim of scam, there’s a few things you should do right away.
- Change your banking, email and other important online passwords immediately
- Run a full system scan on your device
- Check your bank account for transactions you might not have made.
These are just a few tips for staying safe online, we hope you’ve found them helpful! At St Ives’ retirement villages, you’ll find yourself surrounded by a community of people that you can relate to and staff you can rely on. It’s a safe, supportive environment where everyone can learn from each other and where everyone can feel secure in their own environment and online.
If you’d like to find out more about the safety and security that retirement living can offer you, get in touch with us today!