By Mat Batts the Dispatch
집 Instead Senior Care launched a nationwide campaign Friday aimed at better preparing seniors for internet scams and financial fraud attempts.
The effort, a partnership with the National Cyber Security Alliance, includes online resources as well as in-person seminars that provide detailed explanations of what online scams are and how senior citizens can stay protected.
The new program comes at a particularly relevant time locally, 집 Instead Community Engagement Coordinator Shannon Holland said, as Davidson County residents continue to 질문 how the sensitive information of 더 많이 than 3,200 Davidson County Schools employees was breached through a phishing scam last month.
Holland said Lexington’s 집 Instead office is offering the cybersecurity seminar to any community groups interested in learning 더 많이 about the threats senior citizens could face.
According to a press release accompanying the fraud prevention rollout, 집 Instead said senior citizens are often targeted 의해 scammers because of a perceived accumulated wealth, and the idea that seniors might be less likely to 신고 the crime.
“For seniors, this is a time in their lives when they should be able to trust that their life’s earning are protected,” Shanna Howard, owner of the local 집 Instead office serving Davidson and Davie counties, said in the release. “Unfortunately, we know there are people who violate this trust.
“That’s why we are committed to helping seniors understand the ways they are at link and how to protect their information to reduce their chances of being scammed.”
집 Instead reported that nearly 97 percent of seniors age 70 and older are using the internet at least once a week to check email, manage money and keep in touch via social media. Of those who use the internet, according to a 집 Instead survey, 67 percent have been the victim 또는 target of at least one common online scam 또는 hack. 더 많이 than 38 percent, the survey said, 신고 that someone has tried to scam them online, and 28 percent of surveyed seniors have mistakenly downloaded a computer virus.
According to a survey conducted 의해 집 Instead on the cybersecurity risks senior citizens face, approximately one in five seniors operates a computer without any anti-virus software. Sixty-eight percent of the seniors surveyed 신고 using a single 비밀번호 to protect their accounts across multiple websites.
Tax season also presents additional challenges for seniors who risk inadvertently revealing personal tax information 또는 falling victim to a scam 의해 someone posing as the IRS. While most seniors reported doing their taxes offline in the 집 Instead survey, 더 많이 20 percent of seniors did 신고 filing their taxes online and said they felt 안전한, 안전 doing so.
Included in both the online and hard-copy information provided through the 집 Instead program are tips on how to spot scams related to the IRS and who to contact in the event of an attempted scam.
“Cybersecurity is about risk reduction,” Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance, said in the release. “It’s difficult to achieve perfect security. But 당신 can help older adults work to make themselves a 더 많이 difficult target.”
집 Instead recommends that seniors create strong passwords and vary them from website to website, to avoid the risk of a large-scale breach in the event that a 비밀번호 is recovered 의해 a scammer.
Additional tips also include monitoring a senior’s privacy settings on social media to ensure that information is shared only with close 프렌즈 and family. Seniors who receive an inquiry online about taxes 또는 a bank account should contact the company directly 의해 phone to determine if the inquiry is legitimate.
An online 퀴즈 provided through protectseniorsonline.com walks seniors through 10 specific scenarios related to internet use, asking if they detect any red flags. Based on their answers, the 퀴즈 breaks down each risk with suggested courses of actions should a senior citizen come across a similar situation in real life.
Anyone interested in hosting a 집 Instead internet security education seminar can contact Lexington’s 집 Instead office at (336) 249-1011.
Mat Batts can be reached at (336) 249-3981, ext. 227, 또는 at mat.batts@the-dispatch.com. Follow Mat on Twitter: @LexDispatchMB
집 Instead Senior Care launched a nationwide campaign Friday aimed at better preparing seniors for internet scams and financial fraud attempts.
The effort, a partnership with the National Cyber Security Alliance, includes online resources as well as in-person seminars that provide detailed explanations of what online scams are and how senior citizens can stay protected.
The new program comes at a particularly relevant time locally, 집 Instead Community Engagement Coordinator Shannon Holland said, as Davidson County residents continue to 질문 how the sensitive information of 더 많이 than 3,200 Davidson County Schools employees was breached through a phishing scam last month.
Holland said Lexington’s 집 Instead office is offering the cybersecurity seminar to any community groups interested in learning 더 많이 about the threats senior citizens could face.
According to a press release accompanying the fraud prevention rollout, 집 Instead said senior citizens are often targeted 의해 scammers because of a perceived accumulated wealth, and the idea that seniors might be less likely to 신고 the crime.
“For seniors, this is a time in their lives when they should be able to trust that their life’s earning are protected,” Shanna Howard, owner of the local 집 Instead office serving Davidson and Davie counties, said in the release. “Unfortunately, we know there are people who violate this trust.
“That’s why we are committed to helping seniors understand the ways they are at link and how to protect their information to reduce their chances of being scammed.”
집 Instead reported that nearly 97 percent of seniors age 70 and older are using the internet at least once a week to check email, manage money and keep in touch via social media. Of those who use the internet, according to a 집 Instead survey, 67 percent have been the victim 또는 target of at least one common online scam 또는 hack. 더 많이 than 38 percent, the survey said, 신고 that someone has tried to scam them online, and 28 percent of surveyed seniors have mistakenly downloaded a computer virus.
According to a survey conducted 의해 집 Instead on the cybersecurity risks senior citizens face, approximately one in five seniors operates a computer without any anti-virus software. Sixty-eight percent of the seniors surveyed 신고 using a single 비밀번호 to protect their accounts across multiple websites.
Tax season also presents additional challenges for seniors who risk inadvertently revealing personal tax information 또는 falling victim to a scam 의해 someone posing as the IRS. While most seniors reported doing their taxes offline in the 집 Instead survey, 더 많이 20 percent of seniors did 신고 filing their taxes online and said they felt 안전한, 안전 doing so.
Included in both the online and hard-copy information provided through the 집 Instead program are tips on how to spot scams related to the IRS and who to contact in the event of an attempted scam.
“Cybersecurity is about risk reduction,” Michael Kaiser, executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance, said in the release. “It’s difficult to achieve perfect security. But 당신 can help older adults work to make themselves a 더 많이 difficult target.”
집 Instead recommends that seniors create strong passwords and vary them from website to website, to avoid the risk of a large-scale breach in the event that a 비밀번호 is recovered 의해 a scammer.
Additional tips also include monitoring a senior’s privacy settings on social media to ensure that information is shared only with close 프렌즈 and family. Seniors who receive an inquiry online about taxes 또는 a bank account should contact the company directly 의해 phone to determine if the inquiry is legitimate.
An online 퀴즈 provided through protectseniorsonline.com walks seniors through 10 specific scenarios related to internet use, asking if they detect any red flags. Based on their answers, the 퀴즈 breaks down each risk with suggested courses of actions should a senior citizen come across a similar situation in real life.
Anyone interested in hosting a 집 Instead internet security education seminar can contact Lexington’s 집 Instead office at (336) 249-1011.
Mat Batts can be reached at (336) 249-3981, ext. 227, 또는 at mat.batts@the-dispatch.com. Follow Mat on Twitter: @LexDispatchMB