Keeping financial accounts secure from cyber criminals is a concern for everyone, but older adults are targeted even more. To help your parents or loved ones, consider these tips on how to talk about best practices.
Read more: Here's how online banks keep your money safe
Start talking
A good place to begin is with a question. Ask your parents or older loved ones if there's anything they're worried about when it comes to protecting their finances online. If you’re concerned about broaching the topic altogether, you could use a recent headline or news story to start the conversation.
If you're nervous about broaching the topic on your own, you can engage others like a sibling or close friend to help get the dialogue going.
However you start the conversation, introducing best practices early can help give your loved one the tools they need to protect themselves and their financial information online.
Stay up to date on scams
As technology advances, cyber criminals have taken full advantage and created increasingly sophisticated schemes that can fool even the savviest of digital natives. They can be especially devastating for those less familiar with the tech landscape. Variations on phishing scams can be particularly hard to spot.
Here are some topics to cover in the conversation:
Smishing and email scams
Cybercriminals often attempt to target individuals with seemingly urgent texts and emails. In the messages, scammers pose as a trusted establishment (like your bank) and require the person to either click on a link or call a phone number directly. It's always better to err on the side of caution in these instances, so encourage your loved one to ignore the message and call the company through a verified number directly to verify the message.
It is also important to talk about One-Time Passwords (OTPs) when discussing text message scams and phish. These passwords are sent from a website or app to verify your identity. These numbers should never be shared with anyone – including reading over the phone to a caller.
Vishing
Vishing, also known as voice phishing, can use automated, computer-generated voice messages and AI to clone the voices of friends and family to obtain personal information. With the advancement of AI technology, there is also an increase of video-based messages, as well as voice only. If your loved one receives one of these calls, it can be hard to know what to do in the moment.
Deciding on a family safe word or phrase to confirm someone's identity while on the phone can help them identify a vishing attack.
Tech support scams
Tech support schemes typically start in one of two ways: a pop-up warning suddenly appears on their computer claiming it's infected with a virus, or they receive an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to represent a well-known tech company or their internet service provider. The scammers create a sense of urgency, warning that the device is at serious risk or that suspicious activity has been detected on their account. They'll offer to "fix" the problem, usually by asking for remote access to the computer or requesting payment for unnecessary software or services.
If your loved one encounters a suspicious pop-up, they should close their browser completely (using Task Manager on Windows or Force Quit on Mac if needed). If they receive a suspicious call, hang up immediately. If they're concerned about a real issue, they should contact the company directly using an official number from the company's website—not one provided by the caller.
Ask your parents or older loved ones what they're worried about or any challenges they might be facing with their finances online.
Secure passwords
Online accounts and subscriptions have led to login overload for many, with countless usernames and passwords to keep track of. Talk to your loved one about how to make sure their logins are secure.
Help them create strong passwords and share best practices like using unique passwords for every account and turning on multi-factor authentication. If they’re concerned about keeping track of all of that info, or writing down their passwords on paper, a password management service might be a good option. It is important that these are never shared with anyone else.
Once those steps are in place, be sure to help them monitor accounts regularly and even set up fraud alerts to help stay aware of anything that could need attention.
Keep devices up to date
The operating systems for devices like smartphones and tablets are constantly rolling out security updates to combat the evolving cybercrime landscape. Talk to your parents about the importance of keeping these smart devices up to date. If they’re worried about keeping up with security updates, you can help them automate them to make it easier.
Keep the conversation going
Cyber scams aren’t going anywhere. As new technologies become available, attacks are going to continue to evolve, and the way you and your loved ones protect their personal and financial information needs to as well. Keep the lines of communication open to ensure you and your older loved ones remain safe online.
