Catherine knows how it feels to be scammed. The Queensland senior had her identity stolen long before digital scams were part of the daily news cycle. Even though the fraudulent act was committed 20 years ago, she’s never forgotten the faceless crime.
“One day, a representative from my bank rang me up and said, ‘You visited a bank branch in Australia yesterday, right?” she says as she recalls the incident to Good Things Australia.
“I said yes, as that was true. The bank representative then asked ‘so how come you’re currently in Sweden buying diamonds?’ I told the bank I was certainly not in Sweden! My identity had been stolen and someone was buying diamonds using my name.”
The thieves took Catherine’s passport details and even personal family photos that had never been published on the Internet. She says the crime shook her trust in institutions and belief in the safety of every day actions – like banking.
“Today, scams are everywhere and everything is online. So online scams and fraud does worry me, especially given that I have had my identity stolen in the past. Today, in our technological world, criminals are quite sophisticated. I worry that criminals can still find a way to get personal details about innocent people, like me, through a back door online.”
Catherine, who is the president of Probus Association, Queensland, explains that many older people in her community also fear for their online safety.
The organisation, working with U3A Network Queensland, seized an opportunity to participate in the Be Connected program to support seniors – from digital learners to the digitally proficient – to get up-to-speed with technological changes and learn how to be safer online.
“Everyone says ‘go online, go online’. But you can’t guarantee that any site is safe. It is a risk when you get online. It’s so important that we all learn the online safety skills needed so we can feel safer and more confident online.”
Through Be Connected, Catherine has learned how essential small steps to practice online safety really are like how to scrutinise search engine results to ensure a site is legitimate.
“I have been using computers since computers came into existence. So, I am doing pretty okay with technology. But there are still so many things to learn about being online. For me, it’s essential that I know how to stay safer online so that I can take steps to ensure nobody can get into my bank account or access my personal details.”
Just like other digitally proficient seniors, Catherine aims to continue to enhance her digital skills and acquire new tips she can employ to boost her online safety as time goes on.
“As scammers figure out new ways to scam people and the digital world changes, we have to keep learning new ways about how to stop scams and stay safer online. Learning digital and online safety skills is so important.”
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If you want to learn more digital skills to feel safer and confident online, find a Network Partner near you and take part in a free session. You can also use our free resources available:
> Check our free resources and learn and support others to be safer online
> Check the eSafety Be Connected website for more resources and free courses to learn digital skills
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