An annual report of consumer complaints has revealed that young adults are the largest victims of scams, with a report finding 40% of those aged 20-29 lost money to fraud while only 18% of those over the age of 70 did.
It’s not necessarily an issue of those over 70 using landlines or being less engulfed in technology day-to-day, it’s a change in focus of the elderly being scammed to unprepared youth clicking on everything that asks them to.
Younger adults are more likely to lose money to a tech support scam, and self-described “tech-savvy people” are more likely to become the victim of phishing and identity theft.
Young adults are not safer, or more security aware, by default.
Would you know if a family member was dealing with a fraudulent situation?
“Fine“, “good“, “nothin‘” are usually what we hear when we ask family or friends how things are going. We all know this is never true. Behind the scenes, in a cyberattack scenario, they could be embarrassed to admit they fell for something.
Many people still do not understand the value in their name, email, contact information, device usage statistics and time-stamping of their whereabouts. This information is today’s true currency, being collected and sold to the highest bidders.
To avoid identity theft, or worse, awareness is all we have left. It’s worth it to have the patience to pause, think and investigate for yourself and not take anything online at face value (much like fake news in your Facebook feed).
Here are some quick tips for best security practices you can pass along to family outside of work or school:
- Wi-Fi is insecure, globally, until further notice, read here
- Perform all important tasks, such as banking online, on a wired and trusted connection
- Do not share your passwords with anyone (and if you do for any temporary reason, change the password immediately afterwards)
- Do not click on any links in texts or emails (especially from unsolicited senders)
- Avoid playing social games and quizzes that require you to “opt-in” to play (this essentially is asking for permission to share your personal info with the game app’s creators, many of which end up selling their compiled lists to the highest bidder)
We aim to help educate our clients and anyone we come in contact with, to ensure security awareness gets the better of global hackers. Interested in creating bubbles of awareness wherever you go? Rub shoulders with people you can trust to have your best interests in mind.
(It’s us. In case that wasn’t bold enough. Contact us for a chat.)
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