While we all are a targeted, there are certain groups that are more susceptible to cyber-attacks. Elderly individuals and minors are particularly vulnerable and should be educated on safe cybersecurity habits.
Now, you may not fit into either of these categories, but there is a good chance you are close with someone that does. Perhaps you have a young child, niece or nephew that is exploring cyberspace, created their very own email account, or got their first smartphone. The same could be said for a parent or grandparent. These technologies are often brand new for these groups, making them less likely to spot a potential scam. To help lower the risks for identity theft and financial scams, it is best to educate these groups with some of the knowledge you are receiving from our blog posts and social media posts.
Here are some quick tips to help educate the young and old.
Warn about the dangers of phishing scams.
With phishing attacks, no one is safe. Make sure that anyone with an email account is warned of what a phishing email is and the dangers they pose.
Teach them how to hover over a ink before clicking and avoid opening any attachments from unknown sources.
Be skeptical of emails that are too good to be true. “No Nana, that’s not really a Nigerian Prince emailing you about giving you $15 million dollars.”
You can’t police every email that comes through for your children or elders but inform them to be suspicious if it seems the least bit unusual, encourage them not to click on anything, or tell them you can help them inspect the email.
Understand how to spot a phone scam.
Phone scams are on the rise and difficult to spot if uninformed. Pass on the knowledge to your loved ones to avoid giving out any personal information on a phone call they did not initiate. Instruct them not to fall for technical support scams or anyone claiming they are helping fix a problem they didn’t ask to be solved. Criminals often target the elderly with hone scams claiming to be from the government or claiming that their family members are in trouble and in need of funds.
Preach safe internet browsing.
Cyberspace can be a scary place. Ensure that our youth and elders are venturing out into this environment securely. Instruct them not to talk to strangers and avoid oversharing information online. Help them protect their devices with anti-virus protections and make sure they are getting the appropriate security patches.
Educate everyone on password security.
A strong password is important for our work accounts but for personal accounts too. Ensure that your loved ones are using strong passwords and educate them on how to come up with a complex password. Also, stress the importance of not reusing these passwords across multiple accounts. If you can, use dark web scanning tools to search for their email address and see if they were found from any pervious breaches. If so, instruct them on how to protect their accounts and to be on the lookout for scams.
While we all face many security risks, it is important that we pass on some of our security knowledge to our loved ones young and old who maybe more vulnerable.