was chatting to one of my mates recently and she told me this horrific story about her husband’s mother who was a victim of an internet scam. It wasn’t just your typical ‘transfer me $10,000 so I can move to Australia and marry you’ kind of thing, it was much more calculated than that.
This guy had convinced her mother-in-law to film a sexy video and then he’d used it to blackmail her for money. He said she had to pay him $25,000 otherwise he’d send the video to her boss, who he’d already managed to friend on Facebook. Her mother-in-law is recently divorced and this was her first ever experience of online dating. My friend’s husband thought he’d given her enough warning about the potential dangers of online dating but scammers are getting sneakier and we need to make sure that our parents are protected. If your parents are over the age of 50, it’s highly likely they aren’t as internet savvy as you think. Single retirees looking for love and friendship online can be sitting ducks for internet scammers so it’s really important to take these steps to make sure your parents’ retirement funds aren’t wiped out leaving them broke for the rest of their life. Here’s some advice on how to protect your parents from online scammers.
Check in with them often
Internet scammers prey on lonely people so the more isolated your parents are, the more likely they will fall into the typical traps of fraudsters. If you have a parent who is single and using the internet to meet people, it’s mandatory to talk to them about the dangers of online dating. Make sure you enquire about the people they’re speaking to, where these people are from and what kind of things they’re talking about. Internet scammers are masters at luring vulnerable people into trusting them with lengthy and intimate conversations, where they make their victim doubt their family and start trusting them over everyone else.
Teach them to be defensive online
Make sure your parents know not to share personal information online. Obviously they should never share birth dates, bank information or drivers licence information but they also need to be careful with less obvious questions. If they’re chatting to someone who keeps asking them questions about their first pet, or their first car, it’s likely that they’re trying to get security question information that banks use to verify your identity. They don’t have to be totally paranoid online but just make sure they’re aware of scams like this.
Look for warning signs
Internet relationships that remain on the internet for an extended period of time should be setting off alarm bells. A legitimate person should not be hesitant about video calling or meeting someone in real life and scammers will rarely do either of those things. If your parent is regularly video calling someone, make sure they know to be careful what they say and do because they could be recorded. If they’re going to meet someone in real life, make sure it’s in a public place and that they tell you where they will be and for how long.
Be patient and answer their questions
It can be really frustrating when parents ask seemingly obvious questions but I would much rather my mother text me ‘Is it okay to buy things on Etsy?’ rather than get scammed online by a store than doesn’t exist or is notoriously dodgy. If you act like a brat every time your parents ask you an internet question, they’re going to stop asking you and they might just accidentally transfer their retirement money to scam superfund and lose it forever.
Teach them the one golden rule
Never, ever give money to anyone ever. They can buy products from reputable stores but they are never, ever allowed to transfer money to people they have never met, spoken to or video called.
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Do have an older single parent? Are they dating online? Does it worry you?
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