Senior Citizen Protection – Need of the hour

It is being increasingly noticed that senior citizens are being subject in increasing numbers to the specter of the ever increasing cyber crime threat. Especially cases of eliciting personal information from them through the devious techniques of Phishing and Vishing and then using this information to commit a cyber financial crime on them. This cyber financial fraud may be an ATM attack, online banking crime or other some form of financial fraud. Why are senior citizens in such large numbers being targeted? The answer is simple – the success rate is greater and the chances are higher for the cyber crook to elicit all the information that he needs to gather. Just as the cases in the real world regarding criminals masquerading as fake cops and they in turn luring elderly ladies into parting with their jewelry and then decamping with it. This too occurs on a regular basis. Why is this so? Why is the chance better and the rate higher. This has to be analyzed in detail to find a solution.   First and foremost, most of the senior citizens in our country or even the world over, lack in depth knowledge about technology in general and the latest emerging technology in particular. They barely struggle to use it for their benefit and definitely do not understand its nuances and intricacies. This fact the criminals misuse for their benefit. Secondly, the senior citizens in general are more trusting in nature and more gullible one can say, thus they can be more easily hoodwinked and mislead as compared to other sections of society. Thus they are easy targets and are unfortunately even “sitting ducks”, for the smooth talking and gadget crunching crook. Thirdly, even when the senior citizens are defrauded and subject to crime, they take a very long time to realize and accept that they have become victims. Fourthly, they take even longer to react and take the next step to apprehend the offender. This gives the cyber criminal that Article by: Varun Kapoor, IPS – ADGP Narcotics & PRTS Indore (MP) Page 2 window of opportunity and precious time to get away with his crime and nefarious design.   Senior citizens must be made aware and that to immediately to the dangers that they are subject. A member of their immediate family should counsel them regarding the threats and the modus operandi being adopted by the present day criminals. This requires that the family members are themselves aware of the dangers and the techniques in use today. All members of the community should strive to understand the cyber security threat being presented and learn the security measures to be adopted. Then and only then can they be effectively insulated against this omnipotent threat and ensure that their elderly and senior generation are protected against this devastating onslaught.  

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of The Morung Express.