Online Scams Target Older Adults In Utah, Here’s How To Stay Safe

Empower Seniors: Preventing Online Scams

A study shows that most people are not fooled by AI videos, but this decreases with older demographics. Utah seniors can protect themselves from scams that become harder to detect by thinking through and planning ahead for these scenarios. 

This can be a good exercise for yourself or a loved one who is vulnerable to online scams. Basically, you mentally walk through what to if they receive a panicked phone call from a child or grandchild.  

Embrace Age Prepared gives some steps to pre-plan in this kind of scenario: 

Pause 

The first one is to pause. Don’t let the panic on the line determine what you do next. Having already role played or thought through how technology can sound like a loved one helps with this. Keeping your wits about you and not giving into panic is important for the next step. 

Prove 

This is where you can take a minute to call someone who can give more information about the situation. This could be the child or grandchild who is supposed to be on the line. You could also call a parent or relative who can give you more information. 

Protect 

This third P is all about keeping your sensitive information safe like Social Security numbers and bank account information. No matter how official the voice on the line sounds, real institutions won’t ask you to send them money in this way. 

Read More: How Utah Compares Nationally With Money Lost to Scams

There are other good ideas to remember. I think the most valuable idea is to have a plan for vulnerable adults and how they will respond. They need to understand the predators are out there, and at some point, they will be a target.