6 practical tips to protect seniors from financial fraud

Help them secure their passwords

Cybercriminals use a variety of highly effective methods to decrypt passwords. For example, they can use software that tries all possible combinations to find the one that matches a username.

Therefore, your close family member of friend must secure their passwords as best as possible.

Here are few tips:

• Use strong, unique, and confidential passphrases or passwords for each account. Make sure the passphrases or passwords are not revealed to anyone, not even to other family members, except those who need access.
• Use a password manager. This creates complex passwords and stores them in a single location. Your close family member for friend will be able to access all their codes with a single password. This can be useful if they tend to forget their passwords.
• Enable two-step authentication (also known as multi-factor or dual-factor authentication). This secures an account by offering to confirm an individual’s identity using two or more elements of authentication, such as a telephone call, a confirmation code, or a fingerprint.

Create a new password for yourself. Check to make sure it’s strong. (Government of Canada)

Passphrases, passwords and PINs (Government of Canada)

How to choose the right password manager for you (Government of Canada)

Why multi-factor authentication is an essential part of cyber security (Government of Canada)

Reinforce their privacy on social media

By reinforcing the senior’s privacy on social media, you can help them stay in touch with family and friends in the safest way possible.

Here are a few tips you can give to them:

• Avoid sharing personal information (telephone number, address, workplace, grandchildren’s school, social insurance number, passwords, etc.) because cybercriminals can use all this information to carry out a phishing attempt.
• Limit the amount of information shared online (videos of trips, purchases, daily activities, etc.) as this enables cybercriminals to track down their place of residence, create a profile of their habits, and list the valuables in their home.
• Check photos before posting them as they may unwittingly reveal personal information (address, licence plate number, etc.).
• Manage privacy settings according to their needs. For example, they could set their account to private. This way, they’ll be able to communicate and share photos only with people they’ve accepted into their circle, such as family and friends. Remind them to delete messages from strangers, or from people who claim to have fallen in love when they saw their profile picture. They need to be wary of such situations.

How older adults can use social media safely (Government of Canada)

Fraud protection and social networking (Government of Canada)

Help them recognize fraudulent sites

Fraudulent sites are becoming increasingly numerous and difficult to spot. However, you can show your close family member or friend how to recognize a fake website if they want to shop online.

Here are a few ways to check whether a site is reliable:

• A secure site is identified by a small padlock in the search bar.
• The address must begin with "https". The "s" in "https" confirms that the site is secure.
• A reliable site has an address, a telephone number, a return policy, and a privacy policy. Be wary if all these elements are missing or if the site seems to offer very little information.

How anyone can become a confident online shopper (Government of Canada)

Monitor all their bank statements

If your family member or friend has a bank account, a credit card, or a line of credit, they’ll receive one or more monthly statements tracking income and expenses.

It’s important to check these statements regularly with the person to quickly spot suspicious transactions or unauthorized monthly membership fees so that they can be reported directly to the bank.

If they’ve chosen to receive their statements online, make sure they keep them in a protected folder and that they’re properly deleted when they’re no longer needed.

If they’ve opted for paper statements, make sure they shred them before throwing them away. Statements should never be discarded in one piece as they contain enough personal information to make it possible to steal an individual’s identity (name, address, account number).

Suggest the authorization of a trusted contact person

To add another layer of protection to their banking, your family member or friend can name a trusted contact person (TCP) who their financial institution can reach out to.

Why choose a trusted contact person?

The individual’s financial advisor can alert the TCP if they notice any unusual behaviour, such as:

• Sudden fear of talking about their finances
• Unusual or frequent withdrawals
• Odd changes to their property (ownership, beneficiaries, will, etc.)
• The unexpected presence of another person at appointments
• Their unusually unkempt appearance
• A change in behaviour (anxiety, isolation, difficulty communicating, etc.)

The financial advisor may also express concerns to the TCP if they think their client has been the victim of financial exploitation or fraud. If needed, the advisor can ask the TCP to provide the contact information for the person who has their power of attorney.

Important

The role of the trusted contact person (TCP) is neutral. They can’t make changes to the senior’s account, will, or power of attorney documents. They also can’t make decisions on their behalf or access their account details.

Who can be a trusted contact person?

A trusted contact person can be a friend or family member. However, it’s not recommended that the TCP be the person granted power of attorney or that they be involved in making financial decisions.

It’s a good idea to contact the individual’s financial advisor to find out what steps to take to authorize a trusted contact person.

Managing Your Finances in Total Security (Option Consommateurs)