Protecting yourself online.
The internet is a wonderful thing — but, like the high street, it has its pickpockets. Here's how to walk past them safely.
Scammers target older adults more than anyone else online. This isn't because older adults are gullible — it's because we tend to be more trusting, more patient with strangers, and more likely to answer the phone politely. The very qualities that make life pleasant are the qualities scammers prey on. The good news: a small handful of simple habits will protect you from almost all of it.
The four main flavours of online scam
1. Phishing emails
An email arrives looking like it's from your bank, HMRC, the Post Office, Amazon, or Royal Mail. It asks you to click a link to "verify your account" or "pay a small charge to deliver a parcel". The link goes to a fake site that captures whatever you type. Banks never ask you to verify your details by email. HMRC never emails about refunds. The Post Office never charges £1.50 for a parcel.
If in doubt, go directly to the company's website by typing the address in yourself — never via a link in the email.
2. Fake websites
You search for "amazon" or "DVLA" and click the top result — which turns out to be an advert leading to a fake site. Tell-tale signs: the address bar shows something that isn't quite right ("amaz0n.co.uk", "dvla-tax-uk.com"), the page asks for more information than the real site would, or the design looks slightly off. When in doubt, type the address yourself.
3. Deceptive phone calls
"This is your bank's fraud department. We've detected suspicious activity on your account. To protect your money, please transfer it to a safe account..." This is the most damaging scam going. Your bank will never ask you to transfer money to a "safe account". Hang up. Ring your bank back on the number on your card. Use a different phone if you can — scammers can sometimes hold the line open.
4. Romance and friendship scams
Someone you've met online becomes affectionate, attentive, and trusting — and then needs help with money. A flight to come and visit you. A medical bill. A business deal. Whatever the story, if you've never met them in person and they're asking for money, it is a scam. Always. We're very sorry, but it always is.
If you wouldn't give a stranger £500 in the street, don't send £500 to someone you've only met online.
The five simple habits that protect you
- Unsolicited = suspicious. Anyone who contacts you out of the blue, by any channel, should be treated with caution until proven legitimate.
- Never click links in emails. Type the address yourself, or use a bookmark you set up earlier.
- Never give money to anyone who pressures you. "Urgent" is almost always a sign of a scam.
- Ring your bank back on the number on your card. Not the number someone reads out to you on the phone.
- When in doubt — pause and ask. Ring us, ring your bank, ring a family member. A real situation will wait five minutes for you to check.
The one rule above all others
If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this: nobody from a real, legitimate organisation will ever pressure you to act immediately. Real letters arrive in the post. Real calls can be returned. Real refunds can be picked up next week. Anyone telling you that you must act in the next ten minutes is trying to steal from you.
If you're not sure about something — anything at all — ring us. We will look at the email, listen to the call, or check the website with you. 07432 086 899. No charge, no judgement.
Pick up the phone. We'll do the rest.
One short conversation. No charge, no pressure. Just a kind voice on the other end.
our number is — 07432 086 899 we answer it ourselves, every time