Threat actors are well-aware of the fact that many older people are not very savvy when it comes to technology. Unlike younger generations, they did not “grow up” with digital versions and are often confused. Add to this that some seniors suffer from memory problems and you have a recipe ripe for cyber thieves to target older individuals. This is becoming a continuing problem in South Africa as well as world-wide.
A sociologist affiliated with the University of Western Cape, Dr. Suleman Lazarus, has co-authored the study: “Cybercrime Against Senior Citizens: Exploring Ageism, Ideal Victimhood, and the Pivotal Role of Socioeconomics”. The research, working with colleagues from the University of Portsmouth and the University of Western Cape have revealed how cybercriminals are targeting seniors and why ageism, age-based discrimination plays a major part in these types of crimes.
Cyber thieves perceive older individuals as the easiest to deceive. They are often unaware of the types of scams that are sent to them via email or SMS text. They lack the discerning factor to be able to differentiate between real and fake inquiries sent to them. In many cases, seniors are approached with a variety of “realistic appearing” contacts including romantic, phishing, and fake investment schemes. Threat actors know that older individuals may not have the ability to see through their scams and they inevitably end up directing the communication towards financial theft.
In an effort to try to protect themselves, some older individuals are using social media to send out “alerts” to fellow seniors. What might seem obvious to many that are familiar with the scams, are new to many seniors. They are taking screen shots, sending detailed information, and including names and contact information of those that are trying to persuade them into getting involved in financial dealings. Family members are also getting involved to assist their older members in recognising the various ways that cyber attacks occur.
One of the greatest challenges in the ageist attacks is understanding that a larger portion of the population continues to be over the age of 65 and therefore a ripe field for criminals to approach. Cyber thieves make the assumption that older individuals have plenty of money and, combined with their lack of digital expertise, are easy victims.
Another factor that plays an important role is that older individuals rarely report that they have been victims of any type of financial cybercrime. While reasons may vary, much of it lays in the area of embarrassment. Seniors can be susceptible to a variety of financial scams including reward schemes, tech assistance scams, lotteries, sweepstakes, and even those that impersonate friends and family to gain financial assistance.
As the world’s population continues to add to the senior groups, cybercriminals are finding a lot of success in stealing from the elderly. Due to this factor, senior groups are devoting more time to alerting older individuals as to what to look out for to avoid being scammed.
DaVinci Cybersecurity continues efforts to alert the general public in the many ways that threat actors can deceive our seniors. We share methods to assist in protecting them as well as the most recent ways that cyber criminals try to attack.
– Sharon Knowles, CEO DaVinci Cybersecurity
Source:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41284-025-00482-4
