Ideas for Safer Senior Tech

I’ve written about how my formerly “Luddite” dad (his term) learned to use a computer at 89, becoming adept enough to hire a plumber based on Yelp reviews and purchase a new bathroom mirror from Amazon. But while he’s become digitally savvy, and is wise to scams, such as the IRS “back taxes” phone call, he fell for the kind of fake email that can trip us up at any age: a message purporting to be from his Internet provider, indicating a problem with his account and asking for his password to reset it.

He sent them his password, and a nightmare ensued — not in terms of financial loss, fortunately, but in getting him to agree to switch his email to a different provider — and inform everyone he emails with not to use his old address, still active on his iPhone. It took a lot of explaining until he fully grasped the digital damage scammers could wreak on everyone with whom he communicated.

Getting the Digital Knack 

Digital safety joins the ranks of areas in which seniors need to be vigilant about protecting their assets. So far, we’ve covered financial fraud, identity theft, property protection and safe travel tips.

Now GroovyTek is making technology both easier and safer for seniors, by providing in-home training sessions “anchored in respect and patience,” with vetted, bonded trainers who are experienced in working with older tech novices. Co-founder Matt Munro describes the company as “like personal trainers for fitness, applied to technology”. Each hour-long training session is aimed towards helping an older adult become stronger (i.e., more familiar and comfortable) using their smartphone, tablet or computer. At this time GroovyTek operates in-person only in Colorado and Arizona, so they provided a wealth of tech protection guidance in a recent webinar.

You may wish to print and distribute these tips to your reverse mortgage clients and prospects that use digital devices. Or email it to them, and follow up to see if you can answer any questions — about technology, or HECMs.

7 Steps to Foil Hackers

• Use strong passwords. Strings such as 12345, the word “password,” or QWERTY (the top 6 letters on a keyboard) can be accessed almost instantly by hackers, as can your birthday or your children’s birthdays. However, Pa&&word! will take a year to crack. And a sentence, such as, “I have 2 kids” is virtually impossible to crack, because there are too many permutations. (NOTE: These two examples should NOT be used as passwords!)
• Don’t share your passwords. And DO NOT write them down on post-it notes or in a notebook — that defeats the purpose.
• Be mindful of what you post on social media. First, set your privacy settings high. Second, don’t over-share. Don’t broadcast exactly where you’re going to be at a certain time, or when you go on vacation. It seems obvious, but this is an invitation to burglars and identity thieves. And never share your Social Security number, bank accounts, birthdays, home address or phone numbers on social media or any other public forums.
• Use a secure network. Don’t do banking or share other sensitive information on public access WiFi, such as a library or coffee shop Internet connection. Hackers can easily grab your information from an open network (i.e., one that is not password-protected) without ever touching your computer or your phone!
• Don’t open suspicious emails. The subject line might read, “Dear Sir” or “We have been unable to verify your PayPal account.” Even if the email purports to be from your bank or from Google, be wary. Why would your bank or email provider be sending you an unsolicited email? Why would they ask you to confirm your account information? They already have it. If you do open an email that appears to be from a person or business you know, check the Sender’s address, and DO NOT click on any links within the message, or divulge any personal information. Your real email provider, bank, Internet service, etc. will not ask you for personal information via email. This is just like someone calling on the phone to tell you you’ve won a sweepstakes, and asking for your bank account information to deposit the check. It’s a scam. Think of it this way: If you wouldn’t open the door to a stranger, don’t “open the door” through a click.
• Don’t click on pop-ups, even if they say you need to (e.g., “Your computer is slow. Click here to clean it now.”). You may unleash a virus or otherwise create a problem that will require a tech expert to fix.
• Protect your identity. It’s too easy for people to steal it and pretend to be you. Do not use your full name, date of birth, home address, or any other personal data as your email address, or in passwords. On social sites, do not list your home address.

If you do get hacked, call your credit card companies ASAP, change all your passwords, and file a police report to “time-stamp” when you reported the incident to financial institutions, which protects you in the event someone attempts to utilize your accounts.

With these basic Internet security steps in place, seniors (and everyone else) can enjoy staying active and connected in the digital age.
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