Page 18 - Seniors Today Magazine April 2024
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The above instances are real life cases and • Stop having personal conversations with
three of those have happened to people unknown people in any social media, be it
who are known to the writer. Interestingly, Facebook or Instagram or LinkedIn or any
all the affected people are well-educated, other; many stalkers and trolls abound in
highly successful and worldly wise. It does these social streets
beg the adage, “a fool and his money are • Do not answer any calls from unknown
soon parted”. In today’s technology world, numbers
quite simply even the wise can get fooled • Do not panic when you get the wrong
into parting with their money. type of calls; just a simple action of
The free availability of personal disconnecting the call may send out the
information, easy access to technology, signal that you are smart
the ubiquitous digital presence and social • Do not access any unknown or suspicious
media interactions makes almost everyone links or websites
vulnerable and a victim-in-waiting - from • Do not assume all e-mails are genuine.
teens to seniors, from students to teachers, Many are not and are spams
from fools to the intelligent, from tech savvy • Do not indiscriminately link your bank
to tech dinosaurs, from men to women, accounts to all UPI applications
from doctors to scientists, from lawyers to -If at all you need to use mobile wallets,
consultants. limit the balances that you retain in the
While there are no definitive safeguards wallets at any time.
against these types of frauds, some -Put a mental monetary limit on every
commonsensical approach can help wallet transaction
mitigate or stave off becoming a victim and -If you need to link the wallet to your
poorer. It will be worth taking the following bank account, ensure that only the bare
illustrative precautions. minimum bank balance is kept in the bank;
this will limit exposure to frauds.
DONTS • Never shy away from consulting a friend
• Stop sharing personal information in or a family when faced with such situations,
public domain before your rush into transferring any
• Stop downloading banking and money
investment apps on your mobile • Be curious about technology and how it
-If your mobile gets stolen, the cons will can be an enabler as well as a threat; read
get easy access to your wealth and learn about safeguards and precautions
- No matter what the banks or anyone to be taken.
says, the apps are never safe enough. Use • Use the Cybercrime helpline like 1940
your home computer, if at all. and Cybercrime cell of the police to lodge
• Stop storing passwords, username, etc in complaints immediately on occurrence of a
your mobile, however cryptic and safe you fraud or a scam.
may feel it is Next time when your doorbell rings, use
• The cheats tend to be more tech savvy the peep hole. Don’t jump to open the door.
than you can imagine Same with the cyber world and the social
• Stop accepting friend requests from any space. Be wary of where you enter and what
and sundry; be choosy and circumspect you let in. Lest you be coaxed into a hoax !
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