Find out how to protect yourself from the main online scams targeting older people

Thanks to the widespread use of smartphones and the convenience of messaging apps such as WhatsApp, the internet is being used more and more by people over the age of 60. Taking advantage of technology is great. The problem is that, alongside all this activity, the number of online scams has also risen dramatically. And older people are the criminals’ favourite targets. A recent survey by the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban), highlighted a 60 per cent increase in cases of financial scams targeting the elderly during the pandemic, always carried out via smartphone or Your computer as a gateway.

See below for a list of the most common financial scams and find out how to protect yourself!

Phishing

This is the name given to a very common scam in which a person receives a link via email or text message that redirects you to a cloned website. These may be banks or other organisations asking you to update your registration details, redeem credit card points, or similar. Any personal data or information provided via these links goes straight to the scammers.

How to protect yourself:

• 
  Do not provide your personal details, especially bank passwords, via links sent by email, SMS or WhatsApp messages
  – especially if they include a message about “updating your details”.
• 
  Be wary of websites ending in “.com” rather than “.com.br”
  . Websites that are not registered in Brazil are much more difficult to trace.

Asking for money via WhatsApp

This is a classic scam! The criminal sets up a WhatsApp profile using a photo of a close relative and contacts the elderly person, claiming to have changed their mobile number. This is followed by a request for money, which must be sent quickly via bank transfer.

How to protect yourself:

• If they come up with the line “I’ve changed my phone number”, be wary! It’s very important to understand that apps like WhatsApp can easily be cloned. Therefore, seeing a photo of a child or grandchild does not guarantee that the profile is genuine! In fact, the On the other hand, if someone sends you a message saying they’ve changed their number, be on your guard! And if a request for money follows shortly afterwards, bear in mind that there’s a virtually 100 per cent chance it’s a scam.
• 
  Call your relative
  to confirm whether they’ve actually changed their number and Make sure they’re actually asking for money before you make any transfer! Don’t trust conversations that take place solely via text message.
• 
  Ask questions that only a close relative would know the answer to.
  Especially if you can’t get hold of the person and the Let’s continue the conversation on WhatsApp.

  
  

Scam involving the Federal Revenue Service, Caixa Económica and the National Social Security Institute (INSS)

The scammer contacts the victim requesting information to update their details for receiving benefits, making loan repayments, or to inform them that they have debts or fines with the Federal Revenue Service. The aim here is to obtain the victim’s personal details, such as bank details, address, CPF number and any passwords. This scam is most common via text message, but can also come via email or even a phone call.

How to protect yourself:

• Government institutions and banks never ring or send emails to request personal details. Therefore,
  do not respond to this sort of approach
  .
• 
  Be wary of the appearance of the website
  . Although it looks like an official website, this message asking you to update your registration details is a scam. Therefore, never enter your details on websites accessed via links received by email, text message or WhatsApp. You can also follow the British Charities Foundation on on Instagram, , and on on Facebook!

technical support scam In this scam, the criminal usually telephones the victims and claims to be a technical support representative for telecoms and internet providers, or for computer and mobile phone manufacturers. They ask for the victims’ personal details and may even request authorisation to gain remote access to their computer or mobile phone.

How to protect yourself:

• If a company offers technical support, be wary! This service is always something the customer asks for and is never offered of their own accord by companies.
• If a company contacts you out of the blue, do not provide any personal details and do not allow remote access to your mobile phone or computer. Do not click on any text messages containing codes that confirm any kind of access to your device or that confirm any transaction.

health insurance bill scam Scammers send fake bills to victims’ email addresses, and the victims end up paying their health insurance ‘monthly premium’ without realising it.

How to protect yourself:

• Check the numbers on the payment slip before paying . For example, check that the final digits on the payment slip match the amount to be paid. And check that the initial digits match the code of the bank responsible for the payment. For example, if it is Banco do Brasil, it should start with 001.
• Please check that your personal details, such as your name and CPF number, are correct on the payment slip.
• Be wary of any changes to the amount or the appearance of the payment slip.
• 
  Download the payment slip from the company’s website,
  , rather than paying for something that arrives directly in your email.