Keeping Elderly Loved Ones Financially Safe Online

By Andy Niska | September 7, 2017 |

Elder Care in Liberty Lake WA: Online Safety

Even though elderly people aren’t generally as computer-savvy as their younger relatives, many seniors are getting online to enjoy the benefits of technology. Connecting with family members, learning about new topics and shopping are changing the way that elderly loved ones live. Even homebound seniors that may be dependent on elder care can have access to the world in many ways via a computer. One of the most important things that seniors need to know about online shopping is how to keep their financial information safe.

Those who are computer savvy should take the time to talk to elderly loved ones about internet safety, especially when it comes to their finances. Too many seniors are unfamiliar with the way the internet works, and are even more unfamiliar with how scammers lure unsuspecting people to get their financial info. Seniors are more likely to fall prey to internet scammers, so it’s important to educate them on how to stay safe online while socializing or shopping.

Here are 7 effective online safety tips for elderly loved ones:

Set up strong and reputable anti-virus protection software to reduce the risk of malware infecting your senior’s computer. There are several free software programs that are excellent, and for higher levels of protection, many come with a small annual membership fee.
Teach seniors how to make their passwords unique and hard to hack. The best passwords include both upper and lower case letters with numbers and symbols. Just as with children and teens, seniors need to learn the importance of never sharing their passwords with anyone, even other family members, elder care assistants, friends, and friendly strangers online.
Remind seniors to never post personal details about themselves on social media or online such as their social security info, address, or bank info.
Misspelled store names, endings other than .com and lots of broken links are some of the best tip-offs that seniors may be visiting a dummy site designed to look like a popular online store. Seniors need to learn how to spot some of the signs of a scam website.
Inform elderly loved ones about email scams that appear to be from legitimate stores or businesses offering amazing sales, free vacations, and other enticing deals. Scammers fish for financial information from susceptible readers.
Train seniors to never open attachments in emails because they often contain viruses that can infect the computer. They should also avoid clicking on links in emails because they often download malware to the computer.
Seniors need to recognize security-enabled sites, such as seeing that the URL starts with HTTPS:// and the small icon of a padlock. This means all financial information is encrypted and is less likely to be stolen.

While stories of online scams can seem quite alarming, these statistics should not keep elderly loved ones from shopping and socializing online. As long as they can exercise some common sense and follow expert advice on how to avoid financial scams, they can keep their money and their identity safe from scammers.

If you or an aging loved one are considering elder care in Liberty Lake, WA, please contact the friendly staff at Love at Home Senior Care, today. Call (509) 204-4088

Source:

https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2373130,00.asp

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Andy Niska

Owner at Love In Home Senior Care

Andy has over 20+ years experience in the medical community and has a true compassion for seniors. With a degree in Health Care Administration, he developed a background in a variety of health care services that only comes from first hand experience. While working as a manager of a large clinic and as an account executive for medical suppliers. Andy has built valuable relationships with the medical community.

His role in Love In Home Senior Care is to educate people on what care choice is the best fit for the senior and their family while attempting to make this decision as stress-free as possible for everyone involved.

This decision making process should be smooth and stress free for everyone, including all family members and their loved ones. Having access to people with experience (like the team at Love In Home Senior Care) to assist you along the way can help this process. With an extensive background in health care, Andy has the experience needed to guide and direct your loved one to the choice that is the best fit.