The Internet is a medium with various advantages that is increasingly used by the French. Seniors are also following the trend and are using the Web to communicate with their loved ones, get information or make purchases. However, the Internet is not without its dangers for seniors. Scammers exploit all the flaws of the Web to try to steal personal information and steal money. A few often simple measures will help you protect yourself and enjoy the Internet safely.
Seniors increasingly connected
Currently, nearly two out of three seniors use the Internet . A third of them even use it very often (Barometer 55+: Seniors and digital by TNS Sofres). This number is growing regularly, because seniors have understood the usefulness and power of the Internet.
Seniors use the Internet to meet many of their social, communication and information needs :
communicate with their loved ones .
The Internet saves seniors from having to travel to stores or the bank . But surfing the web from home can give a false sense of security.
Internet scams are becoming more and more frequent today, to the point that even the Banque de France published a press release a few days ago to alert the public to the risks of fraud.
Beware of scams targeting seniors on the Internet
Scammers will stop at nothing to scam Internet users, especially seniors, who appear to be an easier target to deceive. Among the frauds most often used by Internet scammers to scam seniors , we can cite in particular the use of:
dating services : the scammer becomes familiar with the victim through a dating site. Once he has gained the trust of the senior, he can extract personal information or money from him;
requests for help or donations : scammers sometimes pretend to be charities and thus manage to steal money or financial information from seniors;
Promises of miracle treatments and cures : One of the classic scams on the Internet is to promise seniors that they will be able to treat a health problem with a new method or miracle cure. The victim is lured, often pays large sums of money and, in the best case scenario, receives ineffective treatment or nothing at all;
online auctions or unofficial sales sites : seniors who do not know how to recognize fake websites from real e-commerce sites and may then buy a product that does not exist or receive inferior quality items;
Fake news : Websites may relay false information that creates a sense of urgency and calls on seniors to donate to a good cause, while the money will go directly to the fraudster’s account.
What protection for seniors on the Internet?
These scams and many others certainly await seniors on the Internet, but the presence of scammers does not mean that we should turn our backs on the web. Solutions exist to protect seniors when browsing the Internet .
Protect your passwords : 63% of seniors use the Internet to track their bank accounts online. To secure these transactions, banks usually give you a username and password, which you must change after your first login. It is important to choose a really complicated password and not to keep it in your computer or purse. The bank will also ask you to change it regularly. It is strongly recommended not to use the same password on all sites! If you cannot remember all the passwords, there are password management software available.
