How Seniors Can Protect Against Modern Online Scams and Digital Theft – Innovation & Tech Today
By guest contributor Jean-Paul Schmetz, CEO of Ghostery
The latest advancements in GenAI targeted advertising and other online services have brought new challenges to the internet. Unfortunately, bad actors now have new ways to take advantage of internet users. While there’s been a recent push to protect children online, senior citizens represent another highly vulnerable group at risk for internet scams and digital theft.
Our parents and grandparents now use connected devices every day and are specifically targeted when it comes to sophisticated online scams. In recent years, seniors have experienced serious privacy breaches and been conned out of thousands after third parties gained access to their personal information. According to the FBI’s 2022 Internet Crime Report, digital theft is on the rise, with total potential losses growing to more than $10.2 billion in 2022.
In addition to protecting your own privacy on the web, individuals should conduct an internet safety check-up with their elderly loved ones to educate them on the latest scams and safeguard them from modern cybercrime.
All eyes are on GenAI as the new tool for cybercriminals, but online trackers still pose the biggest risk. For context, tracking pixels follow users around the web and collect extensive user data in the background of most websites.
Online tracking remains unregulated at the federal level, so it’s vital for seniors to take responsibility for their own internet safety. Left unchecked, these trackers create a digital log of their activity on the web. Data brokers can then access this log and collect sensitive user information – like their health records, finances, location, home address and actual identity.
For example, if a senior googles a health challenge they’re experiencing and does not have privacy software installed, they’ll likely start to see “solutions” or “treatments” for this condition advertised on other websites via banners and pop-up ads.
Once these trackers have collected details on your loved one’s internet activity, there’s no stopping bad actors from leveraging this information against them. So, what may look like a targeted ad for something of interest could actually be clickbait to collect their personal info, hijack their browser or hack their private accounts. And with the increasing use of GenAI to build online ads, these targeted scams are becoming harder to detect and even more enticing.
Malicious ads are already very common. In Google’s latest Ads Safety Report, the company confirmed that it had to remove 5.2 billion “bad” or malicious advertisements from its platform in 2022.
Automating your online safety
To safeguard against falling victim to malicious ads and online tracking scams, seniors must:
Online safety should be an ongoing conversation with users of all ages, but particularly seniors who too often are the target of devastating hacks or digital theft. Conducting a regular privacy checkup for your loved ones will make a significant difference in safeguarding them from cybercrime amid the rapidly evolving online landscape.
Jean-Paul Schmetz is the CEO of Ghostery, a digital privacy company giving users back control over their online experience.