Let’s Talk About Protecting Our Parents

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For most of us, our parents or other parental figures have had our backs since we were born. They made sure we had all the necessities but more importantly, they ensured we were educated and safe. Now that we are parents and they are getting older, we need to make sure they are also educated and safe.

A big problem that has been happening, as I see it in my own emails, are phishing scams.  Phishing, according to the FTC is: “A type of online scam that targets consumers by sending them an e-mail that appears to be from a well-known source – an internet service provider, a bank, or a mortgage company, for example. It asks the consumer to provide personal identifying information. Then a scammer uses the information to open new accounts or invade the consumer’s existing accounts.” 

These scam emails seem to come from Amazon, Apple, and Netflix as well. They are telling you there is something wrong with your account or that you made a certain order. This can be unclear to people when they think they either made a payment or are being charged for something they didn’t order. This is how they get a vulnerable population to give up their banking information.

How you can help.

  1. Talk with the older people in your life about spotting phishing scams to let them know they exist.
  2. Show them signs of phishing emails, whereas if you look closely at the email address, you can see it is not from the vendor it says it is from. Look for typos and generic greetings. Also, look out for attachments in the emails that you haven’t seen from that provider before.
  3. If they are concerned there was an issue with a payment, or an incorrect order, have them check their accounts directly, and do not click on anything in the email itself. For example, check their credit card account or Amazon account to see if their information matches the email.
  4. Make sure they know to never let anyone on their computer remotely unless they contact a trusted provider. 
  5. Also, make sure they know that purchasing gift cards for anyone threatening you or involving a refund is never a solution. 
  6. Make sure they have excellent internet security software such as McAfee or Norton.
  7. Share this link with them with more information about these types of scams and how to report them to the FTC: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams
  8. Make sure they delete those emails right away and/or report them.

As spammers get more sophisticated, we need to be able to keep up with them as well. We also need to make sure to share this information. No one needs to be taken advantage of, have their identity stolen, or fight to get their money returned to them. We need to make sure to protect not only our kids but our parents and grandparents as well.  

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