Internet security and seniors

Bobw235

Bobw235

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
My sister called me the other day so frustrated with our elderly step-father. God bless him, he's still going strong in his mid-80s, but his short term memory is going. My sister has told him many times to call her or my brother-in-law if he runs into something strange on his computer. Sure enough, he ran into some bad website that must have brought up a browser hijacker with the ominous warnings about his Mac being compromised. He called the number on the screen and gave them all kinds of personal info like social security number and credit card number. Fortunately he's got some service called "LifeLock" which immediately put all his credit cards on hold. Now of course he needs to get new cards. Then my sister found him on the phone the next day because he supposedly called Yahoo to say his email wasn't working. The guy on the other end of the phone (who knows if it was Yahoo) was trying to sell him a "permanent" email address and was all set to scam my stepfather. Fortunately my sister got on the phone and told the guy to screw and said he should be ashamed for trying to take advantage of an old man. Turns out the problem with his email was that he was trying to send a message to a website address instead of a valid email address. Then the other day he called Apple to say his email sounds weren't working. Turns out he had turned off the sound on his laptop.

We've now taped a note on his office phone and his computer that reminds him to call us if he ever has a problem with his computer in the future.

Be careful out there and watch out for those browser hijackers.
 

Yes, some of the 'older' folks still have a degree of naivete, which exposes them to common online criminal activities. And, calling Yahoo, Apple, Verizon or Dell(etc) will only get you a human that's programmed to try to sell you something, whether or not that something will be a suitable solution to the problem that you originally called about. :shrug:
 
Once I happened upon a site that ran a program on my computer and told me this, that and the other thing were wrong with my computer and to call this phone number. I called and they said they could fix it without me having to take it anywhere for about $400. I told them politely "no thanks." Every once in awhile something bizarre will happen. Someone once tricked me into giving them my password for my email by using a phony login and then recording my activity. Thankfully when they tried to login to my email my email people saw their IP address and wouldn't let them login. Yay for Yahoo! Then I was told to change my password of course.
 

I'm not that computer savvy, but I'm untrusting enough not to fall for a lot of scams or give anyone personal info. Glad you and your sister are watching out for your step-father Bob, we don't have kids or relatives nearby to help us out.
 
Unfortunately, I think a lot of older people fall for scams, like the phone calls I was getting saying they were from 'computer maintenance'.
 
I check my spam folder before deleting and a naive person would believe these emails were authentic. First time I saw one that was supposedly from my bank, it looked just like my bank's login page, but I knew banks didn't do that.
 
When I was working for the law firm our IT security team regularly sent out info about various scams aimed at our offices. One common trick was to take the signature block at the bottom of our emails and put them into the scammer's email, purporting to be from someone high up such as the chief operating officer. They'd send it to someone in Finance asking for a wire to be sent to a specific party and to keep it confidential. The degree of sophistication was amazing in some of them. My wife's company regularly sent out test emails to see who would click on an embedded link (a HUGE mistake), and would thus have to go to remedial internet security training (it was a Koch company by the way). My wife typically gets one or more emails daily from Nigerian princes, lawyers, bankers, etc., saying they have money for her, if only she gives up her social security number, bank info, etc. You can't be too careful.
 
Bobw235 said:
When I was working for the law firm our IT security team regularly sent out info about various scams aimed at our offices. One common trick was to take the signature block at the bottom of our emails and put them into the scammer's email, purporting to be from someone high up such as the chief operating officer. They'd send it to someone in Finance asking for a wire to be sent to a specific party and to keep it confidential. The degree of sophistication was amazing in some of them. My wife's company regularly sent out test emails to see who would click on an embedded link (a HUGE mistake), and would thus have to go to remedial internet security training (it was a Koch company by the way). My wife typically gets one or more emails daily from Nigerian princes, lawyers, bankers, etc., saying they have money for her, if only she gives up her social security number, bank info, etc. You can't be too careful.
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Wow. Sneaky.

I've been on the internet for more than 20 years. In the beginning I had lots of viruses, etc but have never fallen for a scam. And there are lots out there! I was warned early on by people who knew computers and security so I've been scared out of being a victim.
 
One of the more common scams these days is clicking on a link that comes in an email from someone you know. But, you never really know if their email has been hacked. Every so often we'll get an email from a family member or friend that just doesn't seem right. Maybe it has a link but no accompanying message, or something generic. I always ask if the email is legitimate before clicking on anything.
 
Bobw235 said:
One of the more common scams these days is clicking on a link that comes in an email from someone you know. But, you never really know if their email has been hacked. Every so often we'll get an email from a family member or friend that just doesn't seem right. Maybe it has a link but no accompanying message, or something generic. I always ask if the email is legitimate before clicking on anything.
Click to expand...

I get those sometimes. The subect line is strange so know it's not legit.

And a lot of people may not know you can hover the cursor over the sender's name and you'll see the email address. It often tells you it's flaky. Like 'Paypal' but the address is from someone's name or lots of numbers, etc.
 
Bobw235 said:
One of the more common scams these days is clicking on a link that comes in an email from someone you know. But, you never really know if their email has been hacked. Every so often we'll get an email from a family member or friend that just doesn't seem right. Maybe it has a link but no accompanying message, or something generic. I always ask if the email is legitimate before clicking on anything.
Click to expand...

I've gotten those, something was just not right about this email I had received. So I sent a different email to my friend asking about it and found out it don't come from him, yipe!!
 
My favorite scam was the one I received telling me that child porn had been found on my computer and an arrest warrant was about to be issued for my arrest. BUT, WAIT....I can "take care of it" by paying $200 to get it taken off my computer and getting out of trouble with the government. Wow, what a bargain! $200 or 20 years in a federal prison. How could I pass that up?

Can you imagine how many people who DID have porn on their computer fell for that?
 
Bobw235 said:
One of the more common scams these days is clicking on a link that comes in an email from someone you know. But, you never really know if their email has been hacked. Every so often we'll get an email from a family member or friend that just doesn't seem right. Maybe it has a link but no accompanying message, or something generic. I always ask if the email is legitimate before clicking on anything.
Click to expand...

Ameriscot said:
I get those sometimes. The subect line is strange so know it's not legit.

And a lot of people may not know you can hover the cursor over the sender's name and you'll see the email address. It often tells you it's flaky. Like 'Paypal' but the address is from someone's name or lots of numbers, etc.
Click to expand...

1 ditto.gif...I get them also..I look after the sender's name and it is different than the right one!!
 
It must take a special type of person to consciously rip people off but those who take advantage of the aged and disabled are a special type of scum bag.

My dad got scammed many times before he went into a nursing home. They’d watch him through his computer camera and were able to set off loud alarms that went through his speakers. They’d then tell him they could fix it for a mere $300. Apparently it happened many times before I finally turned his internet off.

It’s sad that there are people in the world who make their living scamming others. Cat fishing is another huge scam where vulnerable lonely people looking for love get scammed , sometimes out of their entire life savings. It often has me wonder what type of personality can do this type of thing and hold their head up for the rest of their lives.
 
Ruthanne said:
Once I happened upon a site that ran a program on my computer and told me this, that and the other thing were wrong with my computer and to call this phone number. I called and they said they could fix it without me having to take it anywhere for about $400. I told them politely "no thanks." Every once in awhile something bizarre will happen. Someone once tricked me into giving them my password for my email by using a phony login and then recording my activity. Thankfully when they tried to login to my email my email people saw their IP address and wouldn't let them login. Yay for Yahoo! Then I was told to change my password of course.
Click to expand...
Also fell into that trap... /-;
 
I was trying to update the maps on my GPS. I Goggle searched for the manufacturer and clicked a link that used it's name and said support because it had a phone number. The woman on the other end sounded very knowledgeable and legitimate, so I granted access to have her check my GPS while it was connected to my PC. I got wise when I saw that she was accessing my thumb drive instead! GRRR. I did a total re-install of Windows, just to make sure I got rid of any damage done.
 
Scam artists have been around since the first caveman told the second caveman that he had a great cave for the second caveman, that he'd be willing to part with, in return for the second caveman's excellent collection of spears. The deal was done, and the second caveman eagerly moved into the new cave, only to find that the first caveman had neglected to tell him about the fierce cave bear that lived in his new abode!

While the above may have never happened exactly as depicted, I'm sure something like it actually did occur. Our species is full of disgusting, reprehensible members who lack any moral compass, any conscience, who prey on their fellow species mates. The world would be better if these con people all suddenly dropped dead but, unfortunately, that'll never happen!

Be careful, my friends......
 
I am good about questioning scams. Rick waws not, really. I often had to ask him to check with me first. He was not a stupid person, just a bit gullible.
But, I always say "Never say never". Several years ago, I got one of those $3000 checks in the mail. The one that says to deposit it, and send them some of the money. ALMOST fell for it. It was before this particular scam was known well. Also, had someone hack my cousins FB page and message me that she and her husband were "stuck" in London. I knew it was not her, but played a bit. I asked if Gabe was OK. Person said no..Gabe was really sick and they needed to come home, and needed cash. Thing is, Gabe was their dog...who had died about 5 years previous.
 
There's a browser hi-jacker called Re-Image Repair.
Not sure how it gets on there but, anyway, this loud, scary alarm sounds and this box pops up telling you that if you don't download their fixer that you may lose everything on your pc. I didn't know at the time that there was a way around that.

So, I downloaded it. $45 for a yr. I put it on the credit card since I need my debit card. So, after I reboot I am suspicious so I look this place up. Turns out it's a scam. Luckily nothing serious. They just want to sell you their product.

So I got on YouTube to see if there was anything on there about it. Sure enough...a video on how to remove it using the task manager as it's loading. So now ya know. LOL
 

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