While technology has made so many things in life better and easier, it has also made some of the darker sides of life more accessible as well. But while people who have grown up using the internet may have an easier time spotting sketchy things online, older people may have a more difficult time with this, especially if they already need additional help in their lives through things like assisted living.
Because you don’t want anyone taking advantage of your elderly loved one, it’s important that you do what you can to ensure that they’re able to stay safe online. To help you in doing this, here are three ways to keep your elderly loved one from falling victim to online scams.
Talk To Them About Common Scams
In order for your elderly loved one to be aware of a potential scam that someone might be trying to pull on them, they first have to know that these things happen and what it might look like when it’s happening to them.
To help them understand this, you’re going to want to talk to them about common scams and how they work. Once they know that scammers are usually people who come out of nowhere and will pretend to know them or pretend to be someone that they know, they can be on the lookout for these kinds of things.
Teach Them To Verify Information
To help your elderly loved one protect themself from getting scammed, you might want to encourage them to be a bit more suspicious than they might normally be. To put this into practice, encourage them to verify any information that they’re told by someone online or through their phone.
To do this, you can teach them to call people back on their trusted phone numbers, especially for things like the police or businesses. You could also encourage them not to make any decisions or give anyone money until they’ve done some research into whether or not the person is who they’re claiming to be.
If It Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is
One thing that it’s wise for everyone to keep in mind when spending time online is that when you hear something that sounds like it’s too good to be true, there’s a good chance that it actually is not true.
As a good rule of thumb, it’s good to remember that people usually aren’t giving things away for free, you likely won’t win big on something, and there isn’t a quick fix for any big problem that people are having. Once you can come to terms with this, it will be much harder to get tricked by scammers.
If you have an elderly loved one that you’re worried about becoming a victim to online theft or fraud, consider using the tips mentioned above to teach them how to protect themselves.