DAVAO CITY—Leading banking group Banco de Oro (BDO) has urged Internet-savvy Filipinos to guide and help protect the elderly from online banking fraudsters.
“Digital natives, who grew up surfing the Internet and using social media, have the responsibility to guide and protect the elderly from fraudsters, especially when they do online banking,” BDO said in a statement released here on Friday.
BDO observed that fraudsters prey on the elderly because of their vulnerability to any or all forms of trickery in the Internet.
“While everyone is a target, regardless of age or background, the elderly like parents and grandparents, many of whom are not savvy about the worldwide Web, are most vulnerable to fraud and can be taken advantage of,” it said.
The most common fraudulent practice is generally lumped into what it called “phishing,” an act of tricking people into giving confidential information to fraudsters, BDO said. Confidential information includes passwords, credit card numbers and bank account information.
BDO warned that fraudsters “use this confidential information to steal money from them.”
“Much like the way elders taught the youth about the ways of the world back in the day, this time digital natives should teach their elders about the ways of the Internet world, how to navigate around it, the difference between safe and unsafe web sites, and what they can and shouldn’t click on,” it said.
Tips for guiding and protecting the elderly include: safeguard the computer their elders use, and ensure a robust and up-to-date malware protection; and remind elders that a secure web site’s address starts with “https,” where the “s” stands for secure and which shows a padlock icon on the browser.
“Educate them about online risks, such as phishing and other fraudulent techniques,” it said. BDO said senior citizens must be informed that banks “would never ask for their password or confidential information. But if someone claiming to represent their bank sends them an e-mail or text message asking for their confidential information, “tell them not to reply or just hang up immediately.”
Elderly persons must also be told “not to click on links that lead to a bank’s web site. These are usually included in e-mails, SMS messages, social-media posts and other online ads. It’s always best to type the bank’s web site address on the browser themselves. Remind them to periodically check their bank accounts to be aware of any irregularities in their online transactions,” BDO said.