Dec. 31, 2025

Too Smart to Be Scammed: A Cybersecurity Checklist for Seniors & Those Who Love Them

Too Smart to Be Scammed: A Cybersecurity Checklist for Seniors & Those Who Love Them

Scams, hacks, & identity theft hit seniors harder than ever—but you are not powerless. In this episode, break down common tactics targeting older adults & translate “tech talk” into simple language. Go through a Senior Cyber Safety Checklist designed specifically for retirees, widows, & those who didn’t grow up online. From phone & email red flags to safer banking habits & a “don’t click alone” plan, leave with practical steps. Share this one with someone who could use a little peace of mind.

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

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those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We

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make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,

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or products mentioned on air or on our web. No

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liability explicitor implies shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio

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or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should

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be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing

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W FOURCY Radio.

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Welcome to to Ask Good Questions Podcasts, broadcasting live every Wednesday,

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six pm Eastern Time on W four CY Radio at

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W four cy dot com. This week and every week,

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we will reach for a higher purpose in money and life,

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as well as a focus on health and wellnent. Now,

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let's join your host, Anita bell Anderson as together we

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start with Asking Good Questions.

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Hey, welcome to the Ask Good Questions podcast. This is

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your host, Benita bell Anderson, and I'm coming at you

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in cognito today because today we are going to talk

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about something that touches almost everyone, and that is staying

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safe from scams from identity from online trickery and so

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especially for seniors and the people who love them. So

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I want you to think of so I'll want you know,

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I don't want you to be scared of me, so

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I'll take the sunglasses off. But I want you to

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think of me as like being in a jail cell.

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And I want you to think about how you're going

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to be too smart for those scammers and those people

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that are trying to trick you. So I want to

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start with a small with a short story. Someone I

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know got a phone call that found it exactly like

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their make right. The caller knew their name, they mentioned

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their bank and said your account has been compromised, please

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stay on the line, and they sounded urgent, very official,

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and within minutes this person was giving out information they

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normally never would have shared. So by the time they

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realized something felled off, it was too late. So here's

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the thing. These scams are not happening because people are

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dumb or careless or something like that. They're happening because

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scammers are getting really, really good at pretending to be trustworthy.

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So today's episode has one clear goal. I want you

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to go into the future be more confident and more prepared.

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And so I've prepared a checklist for you, and we're

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going to walk through what I call the Senior Cyber

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Safety Checklist, and you can use it for yourself with

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so you know, maybe your spouse or your partner, parents

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or grandparents, or with any senior you care about. Okay,

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So you don't need to be tech savvy to be

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following along. And if you can make a phone call,

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if you can read an email, if you can write

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a few notes, then you can absolutely do this. And

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good news, you don't have to write down the single

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thing because I put this into a one page Senior

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Cyber Safety checklist for you, and you can keep that

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by your computer or your phone. You'll be able to

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I'm going to give you information on where to find that. Okay,

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so let's talk. Let's talk. I've got some slides for you,

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so let's see. Let's pull up the slides. NIW So

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this is one email address. This is actually my website

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is Benitabell Anderson dot com. And if you go to

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podcast Guests Downloads then you can see this and that

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is actual address where you go. That's W FOURCY is

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the radio network that this is on. So you can

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go and find that. I will also mention it again

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at the end of these slides. But let's talk about

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why are seniors targeted. First, you know, seniors are typically

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trusting and they're politey. You were raised to answer the

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phone right, to listen when somebody sounds official, to be respectful,

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and scammers know this and they like to take advantage.

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So second, what do seniors have. They have savings, they

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have pensions, they have social security, they have retur accounts,

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and so from a criminal's perspective, that means there's money

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to go after, right. So Third, today's technology is changing

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so fast, isn't it. So many seniors didn't grow up

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with smartphones and online banking, so you've had to learn

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it as an adult, right, and that can sometimes feel

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confusing or intimidating. So if you've ever fallen for a

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scam or almost fallen for one, please hear this. It

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is not because you are stupid. These scammers are professionals.

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They practice their scripts. They use fear, they use urgency,

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they use emotion on purpose. And the good news is

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that you can build some very simple habits that make

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you much harder to scam. So let's go through our

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senior site safety checklist again. You can download it for

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yourself here at this web address. I'll give you it

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again at the end of these slides, or you can

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just listen now and then go later and download it.

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All right, So let's start with the biggest trouble spot,

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right The biggest treble stock spot is the phone. So

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there's a lot of scams that start with a phone

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call or an email, and if we can get better

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at spotting the red flags there, we can prevent a

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lot of damage. Here's the key habits. Hang up on

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calls that are urgent, threatening, or demand payment right now.

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If someone calls and says you're going to be arrested

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or your account will be closed in the next ten minutes,

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that's a huge red flag. Nobody's doing that to you.

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Real organizations do not threaten like that over the phone.

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So never ever, ever give up your Social Security number,

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bank information, or passwords over the phone or email. Is

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someone who reached out to you. If you called the

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number on the back of your card, that's different. But

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if they called you, don't give that out that information.

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Ignore the links in unexpected texts or emails from banks

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the irs. So security or delivery companies. They can copy

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and paste logos. It can look just like like the

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IRS or Social Security, or it can just it can

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look like anything because they can create it to look

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like that. Don't click on any links that you are

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not aware of having it come in to you. Go

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directly to the official website or use the app already have.

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If it's a bank, you call your bank and you say, hey,

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is my account in danger? And of course they're going

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to say no, your account's no, your account's fine. So

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treatment spellings, this is a big one to treatment spellings

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or oddwording or unknown senders as suspicious.

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Right, If the email sounds a little of like strange grammar,

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weird phrases, or it just doesn't feel right, then delete

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it or call a trusted person to look at it

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with you, right, and if in doubt, call again call

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the company back using a phone number that you trust.

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Right. That means the number on your bank card or

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on your statement or on the official website. Don't use

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the number the caller sends you, because that's going to

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go to their call summer, etc. Where they're impersonating people.

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If you did just this section, if you only changed

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how you handled phone calls and emails, you would already

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be much much safer. Okay. Number two is passwords and logins.

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I know nobody loves passwords, but a few small improvements

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here make a huge difference. All right, So the checklist

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says use longer pathwords or passphrazes instead of something like

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fluffy one, two three, think in terms of three or

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four random words, for example, purple, orange, garden, sun. Longer

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is better. So there's there's ways you know you can

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dream up things or else. There's a website called dice

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were that you can go and that place will dream

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up words for you. But I've been negligent of this,

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and it's something that I have changed. Avoid using the

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same password for email, banking and shopping websites. I now

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have an email that I created just for financial websites,

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just for the places where I log in, and it's

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different from my other website with other emails that I

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use for you know, a lot of other things. So

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turn on this everywhere everywhere you go, say yes to

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turning on two step verification. It's also called two factor authentication,

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and this is usually for your email for your bank accounts,

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and that's when you log in and they send you

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a code by text or another or through an app,

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then it's an extra step, but it's one of the

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best protections you can have. Usually have to put some

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numbers in to identicate that it's you, and also right

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passwords in a private, safe place or use a trusted

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password manager. There's several out there. There's there's one called

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one Password, there's there's there's a bunch of them now

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and so actually in about a month I'm going to

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be having a cybersecurity expert on we will talk more

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in depth about the different password manager companies and websites

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that are out there. But please consider doing that ideally

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set up by someone you trust. Okay. For some the seniors,

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a small paper notebook kept in a safe place is

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easier than trying to memorize everything, so that's okay, Just

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don't leave it out in public view. And also that

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little notebook might be important, you know, for I know,

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we don't want to think about it, but someday when

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you pass away, that notebook might be goal for your

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executor of your account getting into websites to take care

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of business. Okay, that's just just saying. So if passwords

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feel overwhelming, Start with just one thing. Pick your most

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important account, maybe it's your email, or maybe it's your

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main bank, and upgrade that password first. Okay. Another thing

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that I do is I change on a regular I

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have a reminder to myself on the first day of

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every month to change passwords. I don't change everything, but

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I change those things that I use a lot. And

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so that's also an idea, is just to regularly change

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your passwords. Okay. Next on the list devices that can

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be all kinds of things. Can your laptop, your phones,

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your your tablets, your it could be your your wrist rat,

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you know, your watch. So think of this as the

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locks on the doors in the windows of your digital house. Okay,

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and so first up on the list is turn on

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automatic updates for your computer and your phone and your tablet.

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Updates are are a lot of time security fixes, so

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letting them run automatically keeps you safer without you having

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to think about it. All right, and use a strong

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Wi Fi password at home, not the default from the

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sticker on the back of the router. If your Wi

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Fi password is something like admin or password, it's time

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to change it, okay. And a longer phrase is better.

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So avoid checking bank or credit card accounts on public

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Wi Fi. I'm talking, don't do that. Don't go to

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Starbucks and get your favorite drink and sit down and

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get into your bank account. Right, You're not going to

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do that. This also includes like cafes airports. Don't do

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it at the airport or malls. There have been sometimes

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when I have needed to work on something while I

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was waiting for a plane at an airport. In those cases,

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I never use the free Wi Fi at the airport.

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What I use is my mobile hotspot on my phone.

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Most people have a mobile hotspot, and so think about that.

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If you need to check something sensitive, use your cellular

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data or wait until you're back on your home network,

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all right, and then install reputable antivirus or security software.

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Actually have Norton, which is also what is linked up

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with LifeLock, and that actually just renewed for me and

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I have had Norton for a while and they're great.

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They're one of those good reputable anti virus or security software.

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And so you don't need to buy every product out there,

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just choose one recommended by someone you trust and keep

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it updated. Okay, so this section is often a great

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one to do with a son or a daughter, a grandchild,

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or a trusted friend who's comfortable with technology. You know,

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you might just ask them, can we spend twenty minutes

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making sure my devices are updated and my WiFi passport

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is strong? You know, maybe you make them some cookies

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or something like that, or maybe, you know, maybe if

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it's a big enough deal, maybe you make them dinner,

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have them come in for dinner, and do those things

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all right, Okay, So the next thing is banking. Back

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to banking and money monitoring. So even if you're really careful,

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it's smart to have some early warning systems in place,

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right okay. The checklist says set up bank alerts for withdrawals, transfers,

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or purchases over a certain dollar amount. For example, you

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might get a text if anything over two hundred dollars happens.

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That way, you see suspicious activity quickly. So one of

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the and I didn't years ago, I did not have

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this set up yet. I actually had a business credit

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card that I kept in my drawer at my office

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in downtown Spokane, Washington, and somehow, I have no idea

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how they got into it, but there were scammers that

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got into that but a whole bunch of one hundred

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dollars Walmart gift cards. And to this day, I have

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no idea how they did it, but I fortunately I

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double check. You know, every month, I would go through

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my bookkeeping and this pops up and I didn't even

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use that card, and I don't know how long. So

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if I would have had a make alert, I would

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have found out about that much sooner. So review your

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monthly statements for unfamiliar charges. I know it's not a

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whole lot of fun, but it's important. Little charges can

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be tests. Scammers sometimes start with like eight ninety nine

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or fourteen ninety nine to see if anyone notices, well,

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you might. You know, i'd be good to say, wait

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a minute, did I bye bye? Did I buy anything? No?

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So consider adding a trusted family member or a friend

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to help monitor accounts. Sometimes it's appropriate because unfortunately, if

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people get older, sometimes this is something that slips. It

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doesn't mean giving up control, Okay, that's not what it means.

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It can simply mean they get a copy of statements

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or alerts to help you keep an eye on thing. Again,

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this is going to be somebody that you trust to

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help you with your finances. So if you notice something,

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contact your bank immediately if you see anything unusual or

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if you think you clicked something risky. But you're not

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going to do that now, are you. You are going

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to be smart and you are not clicking on links

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and emails. So the sooner you call if you do

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see something, the more options the bank has to help you. Right.

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So if you're listening and thinking, I don't know how

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to set up ALERDS, that's okay. This is another great

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team effort project. Ask again. You know, basically, if you

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don't have a trusted person, then now is the title

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to think about that and to think about finding somebody

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that can help and walk you and you know, walk

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into your bank branch and ask them to help you

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set it up. Okay, we're going to move on here

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to another area, social media, and you're going to do

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social media well. This one is emotional because it plays

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on your love for your family. Here's what's on the checklist.

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Be cautious about sharing your full birth date, address, or

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travel plans on social media. Yeah, I know it's really

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tempting to go Greece and we're doing this and that. Well,

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maybe you share those pictures after you get home from

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your trip, but be careful. Scammers use this information to

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guess passwords or to sound more convincing when they call.

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If you get a call or a message saying a

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loved one is in trouble. If you get a you know, this.

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Is Abby, your granddaughter, and I'm on the side of

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the road and I and I don't know who.

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Else to call grandma, but you know they need money.

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Pause the scammers counting on you acting quickly and not

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even thinking about this. And so why am I talking

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about this? Because it has happened, and so there are

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stories out there about these kinds of things happening. So

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use here's an idea. Use the family code word or

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question on your real granddaughter would know, for example, what's

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the nickname grandma use for you when you were little,

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or a special word only your family uses. Okay, so

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think about that, and you know if your granddaughter, you know,

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if this is some if you think this is a

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granddaughter calling, maybe you call your daughter or maybe you

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call somebody else that knows that granddaughter and you double

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check where are they? Well, no, they're in school right now.

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Oh okay, always verify using a known trusted number before

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sending any money. You're you're just not going to send

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money to anybody without having somebody else taken a look

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at this. That means hanging up, calling your grandchild on

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their usual number, or calling their parents or another relative. Okay.

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You can even have a family meeting or a group

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text and say, hey, everyone, if anybody ever calls saying

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they're in trouble and needs money, we're going to use

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this code word and I will always hang up and

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call back on the number I already have. Okay. So

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these are just some strategies for that distress call from

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a family member, okay, Which leads us into identity protection

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and credit This is all about protecting your personal information

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and keeping an eye on how it's being used, all right,

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So here's the checklist. Keep your post Security card and

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your important documents in a secure place, not in your wallet. Okay,

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just don't do it. Keep those things in a secure place.

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You don't need it typically in your day to day

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00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:03.599
just going around, going around or doing whatever you're doing

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every day. If your wallet is stolen, you don't want

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your Social Security card in there.

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Okay.

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Shred old bank statements or bills or documents with personal information. Okay,

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a simple shredder can prevent dumpster diving identity theft. That's

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a lot of times that's how people have gotten it.

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So check your credit report at least once a year,

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so you know, because we're on this subject, maybe now

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if you haven't done in a long time, now it's

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a good time to go check your credit report and

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see if you recognize that all the accounts that are there.

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If you see a credit card you never opened or

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alone you never took, it's a big red flag. So

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consider placing a credit freeze or fraud alert with the

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major credit bureaus if you're concerned about identity theft. Okay,

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so a credit freeze means that it's much harder for

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someone to open new accounts in your name. You can

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lift it temporarily if you need to apply for something. Okay.

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So this is another area where a trusted family member

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or an advisor can sit down with you and walk

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you through those steps all right on to the next thing.

334
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But wait, there's more, Well, this is more. Basically, the

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idea is simple, you don't have to face this stuff

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by yourself. So here's what the checklist is for this area,

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choose one to two trusted people you can call before

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clicking on links or attachments that seem odd. This might

339
00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:56.079
be an adult child, it might be a grandchild. It

340
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might be a neighbor or somebody at church. Okay, but

341
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but think about who could you trust to help you

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00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:07.799
with your finances. Post their names and phone numbers near

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your computer and telephone. Make it easy when something suspicious

344
00:25:12.920 --> 00:25:16.720
shows up. You can literally look at the wall and say, okay,

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I'm going to call Sarah before I touch this and

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agree on a simple role.

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If it feels urgent, if it's like you need to

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do this right now, if it's emotional, or if it's

349
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about money, you know what, I don't act until.

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I talk to my tech helper. You know, you might

351
00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:42.279
just say you know what, sweetie, I'm going to have

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to call you back, and usually well they're going to

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hang up. And keep a list of trusted phone numbers

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or your bank or your credit card company, key service providers.

355
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That way, you never have to rely on a number

356
00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:03.960
that pops up in a suspicious email or a text.

357
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So again you can have this. You know, maybe maybe

358
00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:11.359
you have a place in your death that you keep

359
00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:16.720
those things that can be safe for you. So this

360
00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:20.319
one step, it's kind of like thinking about having like

361
00:26:21.160 --> 00:26:25.440
a little cyber safety team. It takes so much pressure

362
00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:28.640
off you do not have to figure it all out

363
00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:34.119
in the moment alone you check, you're gonna in some way,

364
00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:37.640
shape or form, you're gonna verify. And I'm gonna say

365
00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:42.799
that again, verify, verify, verify. Right, You're gonna do something

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to verify what you're what you're hearing. So I don't

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want you to just listen to this and then just

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go about your day. I want you to do something.

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This is where we're gonna turn ideas into action. It

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looks like this today, I will what are you going

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00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:06.720
to do? Are you going to make a list of

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your bank and your the numbers that you would call

373
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if you needed to call somebody? Or this week, I

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00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:18.400
will look at passwords. I will dream up some new

375
00:27:18.440 --> 00:27:23.599
passwords for myself. And then who are you who's going

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00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:25.960
to be your trusted who's going to be your team,

377
00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:32.079
who's your teammate? Needing to share this checklist with a daughter,

378
00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:38.480
a son, somebody that's that's that you trust? So what

379
00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:42.440
is one thing you can do today? It might be

380
00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:46.640
as simple as hanging up on suspicious calls instead of

381
00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:50.359
staying on the line. Maybe it's choosing your tech helper

382
00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:53.319
and writing their number on by the phone. What's one

383
00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:56.720
thing you can do this week? Maybe you set up

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bank alerts right, Maybe you turn on step verification for

385
00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:05.519
your email. Maybe you schedule a time with a family

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00:28:05.559 --> 00:28:09.319
member to go through your devices. And who are you

387
00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:16.200
going to share this checklist with? Branded church, your parents,

388
00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:20.960
or a neighbor who lives alone. You know, just think

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it's three things that you can do. It will help

390
00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:29.480
you feel less worried and reactive to and feeling more

391
00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:33.799
prepared and proactive. You can always email if you have

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00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:36.599
a question. You can always email at Banita at tencap

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dot com. And you can also access that checklist at

394
00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:44.319
my website Benita bill Anderson dot com and check on

395
00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:52.640
podcast guests downloads. All right, so you do not need

396
00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:56.480
to tackle all of this at once, Start with one

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00:28:56.559 --> 00:29:01.160
or two items that feel really important to you. Remember,

398
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you are not helpless. You can be your own human firewall.

399
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And if you invite a few trusted people to be

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00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:17.680
part of your cybersecurity team, you're even stronger. So go

401
00:29:17.799 --> 00:29:22.200
and get the checklist at my website and you can

402
00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:25.519
download it there and print it out, stick it on

403
00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:28.319
your fridge and work through it with your loved ones.

404
00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:32.400
And then don't just look at it once, think about that.

405
00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:34.880
You know, maybe every six months you review it and

406
00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:38.880
make sure that what's changed, what needs to be updated. Okay,

407
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:43.319
And if this episode helped you feel even a little

408
00:29:43.400 --> 00:29:49.519
more confident about scams and online safety, I have a

409
00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:54.440
couple of quick favors to ask. Would you follow or

410
00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:58.119
subscribe to the Ask Good Questions podcast those you don't

411
00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:03.480
miss future episode. I want for you to especially be

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00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:07.799
watching for my episode with the cybersecurity expert who's gonna

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00:30:08.359 --> 00:30:11.920
go into just you know, like a lot of things

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00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:14.920
around what's going on in the world, and so he's

415
00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:17.279
got a lot of stories and things. But this I

416
00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:19.519
wanted you to have right now so that you could

417
00:30:19.519 --> 00:30:24.920
be working on these things for you. So secondly, if

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00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:29.440
you're listening on Spotify or Apple, these things are good

419
00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:33.640
for like having a short review that helps others, seniors

420
00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:36.440
and families find this information when they really need it.

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00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:42.599
And finally, think of one person over sixty who worries

422
00:30:42.640 --> 00:30:46.240
about scams or should worry about skims. Would you share

423
00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:49.680
this episode and the checklist with them. That would really

424
00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:53.599
be great. You might save them from the next scammer's

425
00:30:53.640 --> 00:31:00.880
phone call. So thank you so much spending this time

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00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:07.359
with me. I'm Benita bell Anderson and this has been

427
00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:15.240
They Ask Good Questions Podcast. Stay curious, stay cautious, and

428
00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:20.000
remember you are smarter than the scammers.

429
00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:27.039
Today's episode is over, but we did ask Good Questions again,

430
00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:30.839
didn't We don't miss out as we broadcast live every

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00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:34.799
Wednesday six pm Eastern Time on W four CY Radio

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00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:39.200
at w fourcy dot com. Joined Banina bell Anderson next

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00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:44.400
week for more conversations with experts on finances, retirement, behavioral

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00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:49.359
finance issues, health and wellness and more. Until then, remember

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00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:53.559
to ask good questions.