This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or financial advice. Every family situation is different, and you should consult with appropriate professionals about your specific circumstances.

Online Scams and the Elderly — Email, Social Media, and Internet Fraud

Your parent gets an email from someone claiming to be a Nigerian prince with millions of dollars who needs help getting the money out of the country. If your parent helps, your parent will get a percentage. Your parent's skepticism should kick in, right? How many times have you warned your parent about the "Nigerian prince" scam?

But here's the thing about online scams: the tactics are now much more sophisticated than the obviously fake emails of years past. The scammers are preying on real loneliness, real vulnerability, and real need. Your parent gets emails that look like they're from their bank. Your parent sees social media messages from people claiming to care about them. Your parent gets offers that seem believable because they're tailored to what your parent actually cares about.

Your parent might be careful about sharing passwords, and they still get scammed. Your parent might know better than to click obvious phishing links, and they still fall for fake emails that look legitimate. Online scams targeting the elderly are varied, sophisticated, and effective because they exploit the gap between your parent's financial knowledge and the internet's reality.

Understanding the Basics

Online scams come through multiple channels: email, social media, search engines, text messages, even gaming platforms if your parent uses them. The scammer's goal is usually one of a few things: get your parent's personal information for identity theft, get your parent to send money, get your parent to install malware, or get your parent to give access to accounts.

Phishing emails are designed to look like they're from legitimate companies. Your parent's bank needs to verify their information. PayPal detected unusual activity. Amazon has a question about an order. The email looks official. It has the company's logo. It sounds urgent. It asks your parent to click a link and log in. When your parent clicks, the link goes to a fake website that looks real. Your parent enters their username and password thinking they're logging into their bank, but they're actually logging into a scammer's website. The scammer now has your parent's credentials.

Social media scams might involve someone claiming to be interested in your parent romantically. These are romance scams, and they're devastatingly effective because they exploit loneliness and the desire for connection. Someone sends your parent messages saying how great your parent is. They develop a relationship. After some time, they ask your parent for help. They need money for a business opportunity, or they're stuck abroad and need a ticket home, or they have a medical emergency. Your parent sends money. The person disappears, revealing it was always a scam.

Fake websites offer unbelievable deals. Your parent can buy a designer handbag for a quarter of the price. Your parent can get luxury watches for a fraction of retail. Your parent enters their credit card information. The product never arrives. Or it arrives and it's counterfeit. The website disappears, and your parent's credit card information has been stolen.

Tech support scams are particularly common. Your parent gets a pop-up on their computer saying there's malware or a security problem. The pop-up is urgent and official-looking. Your parent needs to click here to fix it. Or your parent gets a call from someone claiming to be from Microsoft saying their computer has been infected. Your parent needs to give remote access to their computer so the "technician" can fix it. Once they have access, they either install actual malware or they create the appearance of fixing something while secretly accessing files and passwords.

Your Parent's Specific Situation

How computer-savvy is your parent? Does your parent feel confident using email and the internet, or are they still learning? The confidence level affects how likely they are to miss warning signs.

Does your parent have experience spotting scams? Has anyone warned your parent about these things before? Or is your parent encountering scam attempts and evaluating them without knowledge of how these scams work?

Does your parent use social media? If so, what platforms? Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter? Different platforms have different scam patterns. Facebook has many romance scams. Instagram has fake seller scams. Your parent's platform affects what scams they're likely to encounter.

Does your parent shop online? If so, does your parent stick to well-known websites or does your parent buy from unfamiliar sites? Your parent's online shopping habits affect fraud risk.

Is your parent lonely? This isn't a judgment. It's a reality. Lonely people are more vulnerable to romance scams and to scams that involve someone appearing to care about them. If your parent is isolated, they're at higher risk.

Has your parent given any personal information to people online? Has your parent shared their Social Security number, date of birth, address, or financial information? The more information out there, the more vulnerable your parent is to identity theft.

Taking Next Steps

Set up email safety practices with your parent. If your parent gets an email claiming to be from their bank, your parent should not click any links in the email. Your parent should go directly to the bank's website by typing the URL in the browser, or calling the bank's known phone number. Never click links in unexpected emails.

Teach your parent about password safety. Your parent should use passwords that are hard to guess. Your parent should never use the same password for multiple accounts. If one account is compromised, you don't want all of them to be at risk. Password managers like LastPass or Bitwarden help your parent remember complex passwords.

Advise your parent not to shop on unfamiliar websites. If your parent wants to buy something, stick to established retailers. Amazon, eBay, Costco, major brand websites. Unknown websites are much higher fraud risk.

Warn your parent about social media connections from people they don't know. If someone sends a friend request and then quickly starts messaging romantic interest, it's a romance scam. Real relationships develop differently. Your parent should be skeptical of sudden romantic interest from strangers online.

Help your parent set up two-factor authentication on important accounts like email and banking. Two-factor authentication means that even if a scammer has your parent's password, they can't log in without also having access to your parent's phone or another authentication device. Most banks offer this. Most email providers offer this. It's one of the most effective protections against account takeover.

Suggest that your parent set up alerts on their credit cards and bank accounts. If a large purchase is made or unusual activity occurs, your parent gets an alert. This helps catch fraud quickly.

If your parent gets a pop-up warning about malware, your parent should not click anything on the pop-up. They should close the browser or restart the computer. The pop-up is fake. Real malware warnings don't come from pop-ups. If your parent actually needs help with a computer security issue, they should call their internet provider's technical support or take the computer to a local repair shop.

Monitor your parent's accounts if they're willing to share access. If you can see your parent's email or bank accounts, you might spot fraudulent activity before it gets out of control.

If your parent gets scammed, the first steps are reporting to the platform (Facebook, email provider, etc.), reporting to law enforcement, and reporting to financial institutions if banking information was compromised. Depending on the type of scam, different agencies might be involved.

If your parent sends money to a scammer, contact the payment processor immediately. If it was a wire transfer or gift card, there might be a small window to intercept it. Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Online scams are effective because they exploit real human vulnerabilities. Your parent isn't stupid or gullible if they fall for a scam. Scammers are skilled at what they do. But awareness of how these scams work and skepticism about requests for money or personal information protect your parent from becoming a victim.

How To Help Your Elders is an educational resource. We do not provide medical, legal, or financial advice. The information in this article is general in nature and may not apply to your specific situation. If you are concerned about a loved one's cognitive health or safety, consult with their healthcare provider or contact your local Area Agency on Aging for guidance and support.